In Another Life Time
by jennypc
Summary: Future!Seblaine - Blaine is living in New York, he is getting his life back on track and suddenly bumps into the last person he expected to or wanted to?
1. Chapter 1

**Pairing - Seblaine**

**Summary - Future!Seblaine - Blaine is living in New York, he is getting his life back on track and suddenly bumps into the last person he expected to or wanted to?**

**Words - 1511**

**Rating - M - Eventually**

**Authors notes - This idea has been playing around in my mind for a while so this morning i decided i'd get up off my ass and write it! I hope you like it. This introduces the characters to us - kind of a prologue? I guess. Future chapters will be longer. Please comment, like, reblog, give advice or simply enjoy :) Happy Seblaine Sunday!**

"_In another life time, maybe? Hey, Killer?"_

The words echoed in his mind as he thought back to the time that Sebastian had slurred them drunkenly into his ear before moving away to the other side of the dance floor, picking out his next victim.

He'd forgotten them in fact. It wasn't until he saw him again that they came flooding back to him.

It was a Sunday morning in November, the sun was shining and Blaine was passing by his usual pit stop to get a coffee before wandering into the park for his morning stroll. He smiled up at Hannah, as he walked in through the door, who he now knew by first name after coming here every day, bar Christmas, for the past year.

"Well, B. What's it going to be today? A latté? A mocha? A Earl Grey tea?" she asked mockingly as he approached the counter, with an amused tone to her voice.

"Morning to you too." Replied Blaine as he lent against the coffee bar, a grin pasted on his face, cheeks rosy from the cold wind that was blowing around the city outside.

The two of them had become good friends. Mainly because more often than not on his days off Blaine would come to the coffee shop and sit for hours, reading, people watching and writing while consuming several cups of coffee.

It hadn't been long before he and Hannah had started talking and formed a friendship based around a love of music and performance. They saw each other every day at the shop but very rarely elsewhere, but Blaine still considered her a good friend, one of the few he had made since he had been in The Big City.

"A medium drip. Please." Blaine requested and let out a chuckle as Hannah rolled her eyes back at him.

"It's already on. You're so predictable. There are other drinks as well, you know?" She huffed, but not enough to make him believe that she was really annoyed, "See that big sign up there" she said pointing to the plaque above both their heads. "It's not for decoration; it tells you what else you can order!"

Blaine shrugged and smiled back at her. They had this conversation every morning and it never changed.

"I like what-"

"-I like! Yeah I know!" Hannah interrupted and gave him a wink to reassure him that she was only joking.

She turned herself away and busied herself with orders while Blaine waited for his. Eventually when she presented his order to him, he noticed it was a large rather than a medium.

"On the house."

"Don't be silly." Blaine replied and took out the three dollars that he had in his wallet and placed them down on the counter.

"Put it away, Blaine. It's a Sunday." Hannah replied as an explanation.

When Blaine looked back at her with a confused expression, she simply shrugged a smile still on her lips. "I'm feeling Christian. It's my good deed for the day. So don't ruin it, otherwise God will be angry."

Blaine couldn't help but roll his eyes at this. During their many conversations he and Hannah had ventured onto the subject of religion and he knew for a fact, mainly due to the blasphemous comments that had escaped her lips that she was not religious. Not religious, at all.

He also knew that there was no point in arguing with her, so when she flat out refused to pick up the dollar notes in front of her, he did so himself and dropped them into the tip jar with her name scrawled on it.

"I don't want you getting into trouble." He smiled innocently, with his unique puppy dog eyes, when she looked slightly annoyed with his refusal to accept the gift. "Your boss will have guts for garters if you're not careful."

Hannah couldn't help but let out a small laugh as he said that. They both knew that she pretty much ran the joint and that her boss didn't have the foggiest when it came to the coffee shop.

"Fine." She huffed finally before turning to the next customer who had now appeared and was waiting patiently for their disagreement to disperse.

Blaine watched as the next customer ordered a large skinny caramel latté with whipped cream and laughed as he saw Hannah's eyes light up at the prospect of making something more exciting than the usual medium drips that she made hundreds of each day for the busy city big wigs who passed through morning, noon and night. She flicked Blaine a 'told you so' look before busying herself with the order.

Blaine turned away from the bar and was trying to decide if he should stay for half an hour, pull up a table and read the newspaper or if he should start his walk towards the park. As he did so he scanned his eyes around the shop taking in the other customers, which today was only 10 or 11 and looked over to his usual table in the window.

That's when he saw him.

Sebastian Smythe.

Sitting there, tall and proud, opposite another man who was roughly the same height but whose shoulders were broader. Their hands were linked casually in the centre of the table and their heads were bent in to seclude others from their conversation. Two coffee cups between them.

Blaine eyes were fixed on him and he noticed how he looked nearly exactly the same. His hair still styled with its quiff pushed up at the front, his body still toned. His shoulders were slightly broader than they used to be, but that wasn't surprising as the last time he had seen him was seven years previous. He looked good.

There was a strange feeling developing in his stomach and for the first time ever, he felt insecure in the coffee shop. He dashed his eyes to the door and then back to the table with the two men who were still deep in conversation.

He couldn't stop staring. He knew he should, that he should just pick up his coffee and make his way to the door as quickly as possible before he was noticed or before Hannah did something that would alert the whole coffee shop of his presence, which wouldn't be the first time, or the last. In fact it happened on a regular basis, which she seemed to find hilarious.

He watched, for a minute, as the two of them seemed to be deep in conversation, as the man that he knew tilted his head and gently stroked the others hand with his thumb in a reassuring manner, a look of amusement on his face. The other man however not looking quite as amused and whose finger stayed frozen locked in place, barely responded to the touch.

And that's when Hannah happened.

"Jeez, Blaine. Come on. People to meet, coffee to serve! Either get a table or get out the way!" It was said it a light hearted tone and he was used to it, but on this occasion it was the level at which it was said.

Almost immediately 11 pairs of eyes were on him. Mostly regulars, who were familiar with the banter and who seemed to enjoy Hannah's outbursts of embarrassment and two pairs of eyes who were new to it all.

Blaine flicked his head round and gave her a shooting, meaningful look which caused her to let out a laugh, because she knew how easily embarrassed he got, before waving her hand at him as it to shoo him away from the bar and turning back to the most recent customer.

He probably should have just walked straight for the door, coffee in hand, ignoring everything around him but there was a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach and for some reason, unbeknown to him, he couldn't make his feet move. He cursed himself, wishing that he could disapperate.

With a slightly annoyed look on his face he raised his eyes and looked back over to the table that he had been watching, where the two men were sat.

His hazel eyes locked with green and almost immediately he regretted it. He watched as Sebastian scanned him up and down, as he let go of the hand he was currently cradling and turned ever so slightly in his seat so that he was now facing Blaine, a glint in his eye and smile slowly appeared on his lips.

The next thing he knew Sebastian was pushing himself up from his seat, leaving his partner looking confused and angry at his actions, and made his way towards the counter where Blaine still stood, frozen on the spot.

Once they were standing facing each other, both men scanned one another again, up and down, in silence, taking in the familiarity of it all but also the differences from seven years earlier.

"Well, well, well. Blaine Anderson." drawled Sebastian, his eyes flickering with excitement and apprehension. "Isn't this a coincidence?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Pairing - Seblaine**

**Summary - Future!Seblaine - Blaine is living in New York, he is getting his life back on track and suddenly bumps into the last person he expected to or wanted to?**

**Chapter 2 - Sebastian has been looking for Blaine and Blaine has been avoiding the coffee shop!**

**Words - 5267**

**Rating - M - Eventually - later chapters**

**Authors notes - Second chapter! Longer than the first. This is going to be a multi-chapter long term thing because i feel we need one within the Seblaine fandom! I have already got 12 chapters planned out so….! I hope people like this! I hope it pleases! Thank you so much for the previous comments/reviews! Please comment, like, reblog, give advice or simply enjoy :) Happy Seblaine Sunday!**

Blaine didn't return to the coffee shop for three days after his encounter with Sebastian but by Thursday he assured himself that the coast would be clear and he wouldn't have to deal with anymore awkward confrontations. The first had been embarrassing and cringe worthy enough.

His attempt to seem unflustered by the fact that Sebastian Smythe had been standing in _his _coffee shop, the place that _he _went to on a daily basis, had been a complete and utter disaster.

He had turned red; he stumbled over words and was unable to even look the taller man in the eye without quickly dashing his eyes away. Sebastian must have thought he was a loon.

The fact that Hannah had been wiggling her eyebrows inquisitively behind them the whole time that they had been talking hadn't helped. It had made Blaine uncomfortable, more uncomfortable than he already was and turned him into a blithering idiot for the few minutes that him and Sebastian exchanged pleasantries before he made up a blatant lie of running late and rushed out of the coffee shop.

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Sebastian, it was more the fact that the last time that he had, seven years previous, they had both been drunk and not left it on the best of terms.

"_I can't." Blaine mumbled as his back pressed against the hard wall, lights flashing around them, music blaring from the speakers. _

"_Sure you can." Sebastian murmured against Blaine's neck, causing the shorter boy to gasp ever so slightly. _

"_Sebastian, I can't." Blaine repeated while moving his hands from the waistline of the other boy's jeans, up to his chest and pushed him away slightly, causing a growl to emerge from Sebastian's lips._

"_That's not what you were saying the other night. You said it was what you wanted." Sebastian snarled as he pushed away from him to look him in the eye and placed both hands either side of Blaine's head, flat against the wall._

"_I do, but I just can't."_

"_For fuck sake, Blaine! Man up." Sebastian exclaimed with a raised angry voice as he hit the wall to his left, which caused others to turn and look at them. _

"_I'm sorry."_

"_Forget it. Fuck it."_

"_I'm sorry, Seb."_

_Sebastian scoffed, pushed himself away from the wall, looked down at Blaine and before turning away and re-joining the dance floor, leaned forward and drunkenly slurred his parting words into Blaine's ear. "In another life time, maybe? Hey, Killer?"_

It was Thursday evening when Blaine opened the door and wandered in, taking in the cliental and was relieved when it was the usual crowd, exchanging nods of acknowledgement.

It wasn't busy; it never was at 7pm on an evening, most people by this point were already making their way out of the city, back to the suburbs. It was Blaine's favourite time to visit the coffee shop. This was when he and Hannah would at times chat for hours, he'd drink cups of coffee, eat cake and she would mill around, clearing tables while mocking his social life and addiction to caffeine.

As he made his way to the counter he decided that on this particular evening he would prop himself up against the bar so that they could catch up on the past three days events. About half way, he caught her eye.

"Oh! Hello stranger! The lone ranger returns!" Hannah called cheerily; hand on hip, the smile on her lips turning into a grin. "We thought we'd lost you for a second. There was me thinking you'd fallen down and died. No note, no goodb-"

"Medium drip." Blaine interrupted and gave her a sarcastic smile when she rolled her eyes.

"So, where have you been then?" asked Hannah as she busied herself making drinks and waving bye to two customers as they opened the door to leave, causing a bluster of wind to sweep through the shop.

"Been busy." Blaine lied, trying not to let it show which he always found difficult.

Blaine couldn't lie. Couldn't lie for shit. As soon as he did, an automatic alarm caused his body to rebel and give his secret away. He'd start of by avoiding any eye contact, and then he'd twiddle his thumbs, then nervously bite his lip before finally folding his arms across his chest as though it was going to lock the lie inside. It never worked. To anyone who knew Blaine knew when he lied. To anyone who didn't know Blaine also knew when he lied. It was also a clear indication that he was nervous. Nerves also always gave him away.

"Liar." Hannah stated through narrowed eyes. "Was it about that guy?"

"What guy?"

Hannah scoffed at the innocent look that Blaine had plastered on his face. He didn't want to talk about it and thought hopefully if he denied all acknowledgements then Hannah would drop the subject.

"Oh you know, that super-hot tall brunette that was in here on Sunday who you practically tripped over as you rushed out the door?" Hannah said while waving her hands around to make the point of how 'super-hot' Sebastian actually was.

"Oh. Yeah."

"Oh, yeah. Indeed. Who is he? An ex?"

"No he is not! And he's not 'super-hot'." Blaine scowled, annoyed that he had only just realised what Hannah had referred to Sebastian as.

"Mmhmm," Hannah hummed while watching as Blaine folded his arms across his chest and looked down into his coffee. "Well he came in looking for you."

She watched as Blaine froze in position and cursed to himself under his breath before unfolding his arms and looking up to her face.

"What?" he said a confused expression appearing on his brow.

"He came looking for you. Asked where he might find you." She replied, speaking more slowly as though Blaine was asking stupid questions which caused him to roll his eyes.

"When?" Blaine queried, trying not to let his apparent interest show.

"Monday." Hannah stated matter of factly.

"Mmm" Blaine hummed, nonchalantly, as if not interested in the information, his cheeks giving him away.

"And Tuesday." Hannah continued.

"Oh."

"And Yesterday." She said finally. "Came in three times actually. And each time he asked about you. Funny that."

"What did you tell him?" Blaine interrogated, his attention now fully on Hannah and the information that she held.

"Not much," she shrugged, "Only that you were a sad loser who spent most evenings hanging around here, bothering me." She continued, a smile appearing on her face as she waved to another couple who left, causing the cold chill of the wind to sweep in once again. "That's all" she concluded with a grin on her face and a shrug of the shoulders, her eyes dashing to a fro between Blaine and the door.

Blaine frowned to himself, confused as to why Sebastian had come in so many times. Sure, they had known each other in high school, known each other very well in fact, but the fact that they had left it on bad terms and the fact that Blaine had blatantly tried to avoid any conversation with him the previous Sunday made him puzzled as to why Sebastian was now trying to get hold of him.

"Well, look. If he comes in again. Just tell him you haven't seen me. Don't tell him-"

"Don't tell me, what?" came the deep and familiar voice of Sebastian Smythe, a mere meter behind him.

Blaine froze in the moment, looking forward at Hannah whose eyes were dancing with laughter as she flicked back and forth between Sebastian and Blaine.

"I stand corrected. Four times." She said finally, looking at Blaine and giving him a reassuring smile when it was obvious that neither Blaine nor Sebastian were going to say anything. She turned her eyes back to Sebastian and looked him up and down. "What can I get you?"

Sebastian looked up at the display board and mused over his options for a few moments before turning back to her, hesitantly looking at Blaine as he did so.

"I'll have a Grande decaf soy Americano, please." Sebastian concluded giving Hannah a smile and moved forward so that he was now standing next to Blaine, ready to pay for his drink.

"Finally, someone who knows how to order coffee!" Hannah exclaimed, looking at Blaine and nodding in Sebastian's direction which caused Blaine to let out a small muffled laugh and the smile to return to his face.

"Let me guess. Anderson here is still ordering Medium Drips left, right and centre? Some things never change." Sebastian replied and winked at Hannah causing her to laugh out loud and look at Blaine who quickly shot the taller man an annoyed look before returning to stare at Hannah, a request for help swimming in his eyes.

"Ohh, I like him, B." Hannah said gleefully, "Between the two of us and all our mocking, we might actually get you drinking something as adventurous as a Latté!"

"Oh, shut up." Blaine mumbled, now looking down at the counter and feeling foolish with how insecure he was feeling with the whole situation. He was completely out of his comfort zone.

"Why don't you two go and sit down and I'll bring your drinks over in a second, ok? On the house." Hannah suggested. Sebastian nodded and smiled at her thankfully, while Blaine sent her another meaningful look before turning and glancing at Sebastian signalling for him to follow.

He led the way to his usual table. The table Sebastian had been sat at on Sunday, and sat down as Sebastian followed suit across from him. Several moments passed as they both watched people rushing past outside the window to get to various locations before they turned to look at one another. Sebastian lent back in his chair a smile on his lips as he looked at Blaine who was now leaning back in his own chair, eyes looking down as he nibbled on his bottom lip and twiddled a coffee coaster in between his thumbs.

"So then Anderson," Sebastian started and waited until Blaine turned to face him before he continued. When he did they locked eyes and Sebastian titled his head ever so slightly, the smile on his lips turning into a grin. "Anyone would think you were avoiding me? I have it on good authority that you are in here every day."

Blaine shot a look at Hannah, a scowl appearing on his face as he watched her prepare the drink that Sebastian had ordered and his own medium drip. He made a mental note to remind himself to have words with her once Sebastian had left.

Finally he turned back to the man sitting in front of him and was greeted with intense hazel eyes staring back at him, waiting for a reply to his question.

"I haven't been avoiding you." Blaine lied as his arms folded across his chest.

"Mmhmm, sure." Sebastian replied, his eyes dropping from Blaine's to his chest where his arms rested and then back up. "Don't lie to me, Anderson. You never were very good at it." He concluded with a smile on his lips.

Blaine rolled his eyes as a small sheepish smile of his own appeared on his face. It annoyed him that Sebastian could see right through the lie. He'd remembered well. He let his arms drop to the table in front of him cursing the fact that they had given him away before finally looking back up at Sebastian.

"Ok. Maybe I was. But you shouldn't take it personally. It's just...weird." Blaine clarified, receiving a confused look from Sebastian.

"Weird how?" Sebastian quizzed, confusion still swimming in his eyes as he cocked his head and stared into Blaine.

"You being here." Blaine explained, waving his hands slightly to emphasis the fact that Sebastian was sat opposite him.

"What, in New York? Me and how many other people?" Sebastian joked with a chuckle.

"You know what I mean."

"What? The fact that the last time I saw you, you drunkenly turned me down and I had to go and find myself a different ass to tap that night?"

Blaine blushed at the memory. He was hoping that Sebastian would have forgotten the night when they had last seen each other. It would have made this whole meeting a lot easier.

"Blaine, forget about it. It was seven years ago. Things change. I even can't remember much of that night anyway." Sebastian said with a shrug of the shoulders, "Even though you are as good looking as you were then, if not better, I'm not going to jump your bones. I've learnt self-control. Don't worry." He concluded with a wink which made the pink in Blaine's cheeks turn scarlet and a small laugh escape from his throat.

There was something about Sebastian Smythe that made you feel at ease within several minutes of being in his company. He had always had this effect on you. Well, he either made you feel relaxed or annoyed with his cockiness. For Blaine it had always been the former. He felt more relaxed now, happy that the conversation was out of the way; pleased that Sebastian hadn't held a grudge towards him for the past seven years and that they could fall back into a normal conversation.

There was one thing niggling at him though. He knew it shouldn't but when Sebastian had said 'I can't even remember much of that night anyway', Blaine had felt a little disappointed. He didn't know why and he knew he shouldn't but something inside of him made his stomach clench at the fact that their last meeting back at that party had been easily forgettable to the taller man. Blaine could remember everything. Not just that night but the other memories as well. He couldn't help but wonder if Sebastian remembered those or if they were forgotten, but there was no chance he was going to ask. Not now.

"I just thought it would be good to catch up. It's nice to see a familiar face in the city. And from what I hear you could do with it."

"Hannah needs to learn to shut up." Blaine said matter of factly, but he was smiling. He felt himself loosen up now that the conversation that he had been dreading was behind them.

"Hannah is nice." Sebastian stated as his eyes flicked over to the coffee counter. "She's cool, I like her." He concluded with a nod of the head and a smile to show his approval when his eyes returned to Blaine's.

"So come on then, Killer. What's new?" Sebastian asked and raised his eye brows in anticipation.

After that the two of them spoke for what seemed like hours about what they had been doing for the past seven years. Hannah brought them their coffees and then another an hour later. The conversation flitted from where they had ended up at college, why they were in New York, the Warblers and general stories about what they had experience.

Sebastian explained that he had gone to college at NYU Law School and was currently working as a trainee in one of New York's top 5 law firms. Blaine couldn't help being impressed. Sebastian had done well for himself. It seemed as though he had sorted himself out with a great job which came with an excellent apartment. The ideal life, really.

He told Sebastian how he himself had ended up going to Yale School of Drama and that he had moved to the city in pursuit of an acting career, which he did but also tutored students on the side for extra cash.

"So you followed the dream then, hey Anderson? Yale though? What happened to NYADA? I thought you and Hummel were going to gay it up in the city?" Sebastian joked, a glint in his eye.

Blaine ignored the comment about Kurt and simply shrugged. "Yale was the better choice in the end. I loved it." He concluded, as he remembered the memories from a few years earlier when he had been at college. Yale had been amazing. He would never regret not going to NYADA.

Every now and again there would be small pauses in the conversations but Blaine realised that they were never awkward. Sebastian had made him feel at ease. It seemed as though he had really grown up from the over confident boy that he had been at school. Blaine couldn't help but think back to when they had known each other when they were younger and as he listened to Sebastian chatting about his job, friends and New York life. Blaine let his mind drift back to the memories of when they had first met, when they had become good friends, when they had liked each other.

"_You really are gorgeous. Do you know that?" Sebastian drawled into his ear as they leaned against the sofa in Nick's house, the party surrounding them. _

"_Shut up, Sebastian." Blaine muttered, flicking his eyes up to look at him before turning and focusing on the drunken game of Twister in front of them._

"_Oh come on Anderson, you love it really. You love me telling you how hot you are, how you have the perfect ass, how your lips are the most amazing…"_

"_Sebastian." _

"_Mmhmm?"_

"_Stop."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because."_

"_What? Because gay face Hummel is watching us like a hawk?" Sebastian quizzed and whipped his head round to where Kurt was sitting with Rachel and Tina on the other side of the room, trying a little too hard to pretend that he wasn't watching Sebastian's every move._

"_Exactly."_

"_Well it's not like we're doing anything wrong is it?" Sebastian said and looked back down at Blaine. "Like you said. We're just friends. I can still compliment my friends."_

"_It's not the compliments. It's the content of them. I have a boyfriend. It's inappropriate. If you want us to hang out, to be friends, then you need to stop."_

"_Does he say those sort of things to you?" Sebastian asked after a minute of silence, watching Blaine's reactions intently. When Blaine didn't answer Sebastian couldn't help but scoff back a laugh. "Didn't think so."_

"Are you listening to me, Blaine?" Sebastian questioned with an amused look when Blaine focused in again on his face. He had been in his own little world and for the past few minutes or so hadn't heard a word the taller man had said.

"Uhh...sorry. Got lost in my own train of thought" Blaine explained with a shrug and small smile.

Sebastian couldn't help but laugh and once he had finished looked intently again at Blaine as though waiting for him to explain.

"Don't worry. I was just thinking about school and how different you were back then. You've changed." Blaine explained, turning a little pink when he saw Sebastian raise his eyes brows and shake his head a little.

"I haven't changed that much, Killer. Believe me." Sebastian said and this time there was humour swimming in his eyes as he grinned back at Blaine, causing the shorter man to become even more embarrassed. Not shy, just embarrassed about the fact that he had been caught thinking about when they were in school.

Sebastian kept staring at Blaine, almost challenging him to reply but he didn't and they sat for a few moments in silence, the only noise was Hannah crashing around in the back of the coffee shop which was now empty. It wasn't until Sebastian's phone buzzed in his pocket that the silence was broken.

Blaine watched as Sebastian reached into his pocket and took his phone out, reading the message that was displayed on it before turning his wrist and looking at his Rolex watch, causing Blaine to do the same.

"Shit." Sebastian mumbled, an annoyed tone in his voice, as his eyes flicked back up to Blaine with a hint of disappointment shining in them. "I hadn't realised the time. I should be going soon."

Blaine hadn't realised the time either and when he did look at his watch he was surprised to see that they had been talking for almost three hours.

"Yeah, me too." Blaine agreed trying not to let any of the disappointment of his own show in his face.

"This was good. I enjoyed it, Anderson. We should catch up again." Sebastian said and his smile and voice were genuine. He really had enjoyed the past three hours and it was obvious that he was hoping that Blaine agreed.

"Yeah, definitely. You know where to find me." Blaine said, smiling around the coffee shop before laughing at himself and causing Sebastian to scoff.

Sebastian pushed himself up from the chair but he hesitated as though milling over something in his mind, biting his own lip which made Blaine think that maybe he was nervous or unsure about something and his body for once was giving him away.

He finally turned back to Blaine and looked directly at him before sitting back down in his seat to show that their conversation wasn't fully over. Sebastian had such a presence about him. He could control a room easily just by simple movements. Blaine waited until Sebastian was ready to speak again.

"Look, me and Max are having a party tomorrow night. You should come." Sebastian finally said and looked at Blaine hopefully. "Lots of friends, alcohol and music. It'll be fun."

Blaine was a little confused but tried not to let it show. He wanted to know who Max was exactly but didn't want Sebastian to think that he was prying into his personal life or that he was interested in it. He didn't want to send the wrong message. He looked up at the taller man and when he saw him looking back at him waiting for a response, the look on his face suggested he knew what Blaine was going to ask, so he did.

"Who's Max?"

"Max is...It's complicated."

"Your boyfriend?" Blaine probed.

"No. Not boyfriend. I don't do boyfriends."

"Fuck buddy?" Blaine asked and surprised himself at how frank he was being, a small smile appearing on his lips. It also made Sebastian's eyes open wide with both surprise and amusement.

"It's just casual." Sebastian shrugged. "He wants more but knows I'm not into that kind of thing." He concluded as though it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Right. Is he the guy who you were here with the other day?"

"Yeah. That's him. The one who was shooting you daggers the whole time I was speaking to you." Sebastian joked, a grin appearing on his face because in all honesty he was right. Max had been glaring at him the whole time they had exchanged pleasantries. "He gets a little jealous. Sometimes it's annoying. Sometimes it's cute."

"I don't know, it's-"

"Just come. It'll be good." Sebastian interrupted before Blaine had chance to talk himself out of it and come up with an excuse not to go. "I won't take no for an answer."

"I won't know anybody." Blaine muttered, still frantically trying to come up with reasons for not going but failing at the last hurdle.

"Bring your boyfriend." Sebastian stated but it came out as more of a question than a statement.

Blaine knew what Sebastian was getting at. They'd discussed Sebastian's relationship and now he was trying to find out Blaine's situation. Obviously Kurt had been mentioned a couple of times throughout the evening but Blaine had brushed it off with blasé comments and ignored it when his name was mentioned. Basically Sebastian was trying to work out if Kurt and Blaine were still together after seven years.

"There isn't one."

"Didn't think so." Sebastian replied matter of factly, a small smile on his lips, a content smile, causing Blaine's mind to drift back to his previous thoughts. _Didn't think so. _Maybe Sebastian hadn't changed so much after all.

"Bring Hannah then." Sebastian replied quickly, nodding in the direction of the sound of cups and saucers loudly being placed in the dishwasher in the kitchen.

"It's not really her. We don't do that kind of thing."

"Then don't bring her. Bring her. I don't care. Just come. It'll be fun. What else have you got on tomorrow evening apart from coming and sitting in here being cock blocked by a waitress?" Sebastian asked finally, staring directly into Blaine's eyes not allowing them to falter for a second.

"Nothing." Blaine admitted, cursing himself for not being able to make up a lie quick enough.

"Good. So you're coming. We can catch up there. Pass me your phone; I'll type in my number." Sebastian demanded and Blaine complied straight away, pulling his phone out of his pocket and passing it to the taller man.

He watched as Sebastian quickly and expertly added his own number to Blaine's phone before finally hitting the call button and ringing his own so that he also had Blaine's number in his. He added it quickly to his contacts before finally passing Blaine his phone back.

"There. Sorted. There's no getting out of it now I have your number. So don't bother trying." Sebastian warned with a sincere smile. "I'll text you my address later."

Blaine was just about to say that maybe it wasn't for the best when Sebastian's phone buzzed again in his hand, stopping his train of thought, Sebastian raised it up to read the message on the screen.

He watched as he rolled his eyes, an annoyed look clouding his face before he put the phone back on stand by and slithered it back into his jean pocket.

"I've really got to go." Sebastian said in an apologetic tone, his eyes hazy with irritation at being rushed by the person sending messages, who Blaine guessed was Max. _Sometimes annoying_ Max.

With that Sebastian pushed himself up from the table and flattened his shirt and jacket out before moving away.

"I'll see you tomorrow night. 8pm. OK?" Sebastian said and once Blaine had nodded in agreement he turned to where Hannah was now standing wiping down the counter. "Thanks for the coffee." He called and lifted his hand in a wave to which she returned the wave with a wide smile.

Blaine stayed seated at the table as he watched Sebastian make his way to the door. For the first time that evening he took in what the other man was wearing. Dark fitted jeans with a checked blue and white shirt with black converse trainers. Sebastian looked cool. He was the epitome of cool. To top it all off he pulled his black trench coat from under his arm and slipped it over his shoulders before checking the weather outside and pulling out a grey beanie from one of the pockets and slipping it on over his coiffed hair before turning back to Blaine as he opened the door.

"Don't be late." He warned. "You know I don't like to be kept waiting!" he concluded as he shot Blaine a grin and walked out into the cool night air before Blaine had a chance to respond.

Blaine watched as he walked past the window and raised his own hand in a half-hearted wave before turning back to look at Hannah who he knew had been watching them for the past few minutes.

"Don't you dare say a word." He warned as he called across to her as he pulled himself up from the table and collected his belongings ready to leave for the evening.

"My lips are sealed." She replied, making a zipping motion across her mouth as she did so, the huge smile still visible. "See you tomorrow?" She asked as Blaine gave her a wave and made his way to the door.

Blaine turned before he got to the door and looked at her deciding whether to tell her or not. "I'm going to a party."" He said bluntly, a smile on his lips.

"To his party!" Hannah exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down and pointing out the window in the direction Sebastian had just walked.

"To his and his 'it's complicated' boyfriend's party." Blaine said to make her aware that Sebastian was off the market even if he had been interested, which he wasn't. Definitely wasn't.

"Oh."

"Mmm. Anyway. See ya later. I'll probably be in in the morning." Blaine smiled. He had been annoyed at Hannah earlier but in all honesty he couldn't stay annoyed for long. She had a decent heart and she was a good friend. He waved again and gave another big smile before pulling the door open and walking out into the cold air which caused him to shiver and wrap his coat tighter around his body.

As he walked along he thought back over the events of the evening. The irony of it all. The fact that he had been trying to avoid bumping into Sebastian and in fact had managed to spend the whole evening chatting to him, finding out all about his life and reminiscing.

When he had woken up this morning the last thing he thought he would be doing or would want to be doing was sitting down with Sebastian and catching up. He was surprised at how much he had enjoyed it. Maybe Sebastian was right. Seeing a familiar face is nice. Or maybe seeing Sebastian's face was nice.

He still felt a little apprehensive about the fact that Sebastian had managed to convince to go to one of his parties and the fact that he himself hadn't put up much of a fight. Usually he put his foot down, but there was something intriguing about attending. From previous experience Sebastian Smythe's parties got a little out of control and Blaine didn't know if he was ready for that just yet. Also the fact that jealous possessive Max was going to be there didn't put him at ease. Maybe he still could come up with some kind of excuse.

As he milled over the conversations they had had about home, work, Max and the Warblers, Blaine felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. For some reason he knew straight away that it was going to be Sebastian. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone and stared down at the name that lit on his screen.

_**Sebastian Sexy Smythe.**_

There were definitely some things about Sebastian that were the same. His confidence. He couldn't help laugh as he read the name over again and smile to himself. Sebastian had entered the same name into Blaine contacts that he had entered the first time he had done so seven years earlier. It had stayed in Blaine's phone as Sebastian Sexy Smythe the whole time they had been friends, much to Kurt's displeasure, until he finally deleted it the day after that final evening that they had spoken. Sebastian had never text him or rang again after that evening.

**10:40 – Thanks for a great evening killer. See you tomorrow night. Sorry I had to rush off. **

While he was reading the first message, his phone buzzed in his hand signalling that another had come through. He flicked back to his messages and read the new one that appeared on his screen.

**10:44 – Also, don't even think about cancelling on me tomorrow. Night. X**

Blaine groaned to himself knowing that he wasn't going to be able to get out of the party after all. Although he wasn't actually sure he wanted to.


	3. Chapter 3

As Blaine stood outside the apartment block, the cold air blowing around him, looking up towards the third floor which was lit up, shadows dancing behind the curtains and chattering could be heard, he still was unsure of whether to go in or not. Half of his brain was telling him to press the buzzer, the other half told him to make a run for it.

He'd spent the day thinking up ways that he could cancel on Sebastian, coming up with several different excuses of why he wouldn't be able to attend the party but he never actually sent a text. He thought that maybe if it wasn't mentioned, maybe, just maybe Sebastian would forget. Obviously Sebastian had been thinking the same thing as he had politely sent Blaine a text with directions to his apartment and a reminder of the time just in case he'd forgotten.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go to the party; it was more to do with the fact that he hadn't been to a party in months and wasn't really sure what to do when he did eventually venture inside. The simple fact that it was Sebastian's party didn't help matters. Any other party and he would have been fine, the fact that it was Sebastian made him feel odd, he blamed his previous know ledge of such events.

Hannah hadn't helped matters by going on about it when he had stopped by to visit her earlier that day.

"_So are you looking forward to your date?"_

"_It's not a date."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yes."_

"_How?"_

"_He has a boyfriend and anyway even if he didn't I wouldn't be interested."_

"_Why not? He's gorgeous!"_

"_Hannah."_

"_What?"_

"_Shut up."_

Obviously Hannah being Hannah, hadn't shut up. In fact she spent the next 20 minutes gushing over Sebastian and gossiping about what she thought the party would be like before demanding that Blaine came and gave her a detailed explanation first thing on Saturday morning. She'd even tried to help him sort out an outfit as he was leaving, which he kindly but pointedly refused.

"_So what are you wearing on your date?"_

"_It's not a date."_

"_Sure. So what are you wearing?"_

"_Nothing-"_

"_Nothing! That's a bit forward Blaine, seeing as you say you don't like him! Whatever will his boyfriend say."_

"_Can I finish? Nothing exciting."_

"_Mmm, just promise me one thing?"_

"_What?"_

"_No bow ties. They're out."_

Blaine looked down at the outfit that he had decided on; a pair of dark wash fitted jeans, smart brown shoes, a purple polo shirt and a blue figure hugging sweater over the top. He was unsure of the combination and thought suddenly that this could be his excuse, his get out of jail card.

"Oi, Anderson. Is that you?" Sebastian called from up above him.

Blaine's eyes shot back up to where he had been looking two minutes earlier, to see Sebastian's perfectly coiffed head leaning over the balcony, a grin on his face.

"Wait there, I'll come get you." He called down and before Blaine had chance to reply, the mass of brunette hair had vanished from sight.

It only took 2 minutes for Sebastian to emerge at the door in front of him, a huge grin on his face, eyes sparkling; his cheeks were flushed like a pale pink rose most likely caused by the bottle of beer that was currently in his left hand. He pulled the door open and eyed Blaine up and down before settling on his face once again.

"And here was me thinking you were going to cancel, try and get out of it somehow. I was surprised when I didn't receive one of your rubbish excuses." Sebastian mocked and moved out the way of the door so that Blaine could pass through.

Blaine tried to keep his face under control and not allow it to show that that was in fact what he had been doing all day, making excuses of why he shouldn't, couldn't, come to the party but he had never been able to settle on one which had led him to standing in Sebastian entrance, blushing slightly. He could feel his cheeks burning and didn't dare look at Sebastian straight away in case they gave him away.

When he eventually did turn to look at Sebastian, who had now let the door close behind him and was waiting for Blaine to respond in some way as he took sips from his beer bottle, Blaine took in his own outfit: a pair of dark jeans and a long sleeved rugby shirt and a pair of black socks. He looked good, casual but good.

Almost immediately Blaine felt over dressed, looking down at his own outfit and tugging on the rim of his sweater, more heat rising to his cheeks.

"Shit. I feel overdressed." He mumbled to himself rather than anyone in particular, shuffling his feet uncomfortably not really knowing where to look or what to do. He was sure that Sebastian was going to mock him any second so he waited for the comment to come.

"Thank god you're not wearing a bow tie. They're out." Sebastian joked and raised his eyebrows at Blaine who had shot him an annoyed look.

For a moment Blaine wondered if Sebastian and Hannah were twins separated at birth. He couldn't help but thank whoever it was up there that Hannah hadn't been able to come to the party because if she had they would have spent the whole evening, like a pack of hyenas, taking the piss out of Blaine. He reminded himself for the second time in two days: Don't let Hannah and Sebastian become friends.

He got lost in his own thoughts and eventually looked up when he noticed that Sebastian was moving closer to him to make his way up the stairs to his apartment. Sebastian paused in front of him and looked down once again.

"You look good." He drawled, looking directly into Blaine eyes, a small smile on his lips that was genuine. They stared into one another for several moments before Sebastian shook his head slightly and made a move for the stairs once again.

"Come on. You need to come meet everyone." He stated as he brushed past Blaine and ascended the stairs two at a time, causing Blaine to rush to keep up with him.

Up until this point Blaine hadn't really taken in his surroundings but as they made their way up three flights of stairs to Sebastian's front door, Blaine's eyes shot around the apartment building. It was nice, fancier than his, it looked like one of those apartment blocks that you always saw in romantic comedy films but could never actually find in real life. The landing was big and spacious with antique metal railings allowing you to lean over and see the floors above and below. It was airy but not unwelcoming and it had character. Sebastian had done well for himself.

When they arrived at the door of Sebastian's apartment, number 10, it had been left ajar so there was no need for a key. Blaine could hear the noise coming from the other side of the door and bit his lip anxiously, suddenly feeling nervous. He looked up and noticed that Sebastian was almost waiting for him to give him a signal that he was ok, that he wanted to go inside.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine. No one bites. You might even recognise some familiar faces." He stated with a wink before pushing the apartment door open and wandering in.

Blaine followed closely taking in his surroundings. The apartment was just as nice as he had expected from its exterior. It had wooden floors all the way through, brick walls that were painted in magnolia and was open plan, decorated with Sebastian belongings which Blaine could tell weren't cheap. It was classy, it was cool, it was Sebastian down to a tee.

He followed Sebastian into the lounge area where most of the crowd was based, looking at the layout and all of Sebastian's belongings: the large dark brown leather couches, the flat screen TV up on the wall, the music system that was set up in the corner that was playing music quietly in the background.

He also noticed the more personal touches: photos of friends and family on the sideboard, paintings that he had selected himself up on the walls, books that filled a whole wall and candles dotted around in random places. Candles. Sebastian Smythe and candles was a bit surreal. Before he had much time to think in more detail or scan the room again he felt a hand gently pull on his elbow.

"Come on, come and meet every one, Killer." Sebastian murmured, as to not startle him.

Blaine's eyes fell back on Sebastian and the look on his face told Blaine that he had obviously been watching him taking in the apartment, his life, and his belongings and analysing it all. Blaine couldn't take his eyes away, Sebastian the same and it was only when they were interrupted by a deep voice that they both looked up.

"Well this must be Blaine." said the bulky man that had been sat in the coffee shop with Sebastian the previous Sunday.

He looked Blaine up and down cautiously before giving him a quick and quite obviously fake smile before lifting his arm and wrapping it around Sebastian shoulder in a possessive manner, pulling him closer, causing Sebastian lips to thin in a straight line.

"I'm Max." he continued as he shot his free arm out to shake Blaine's hand, which Blaine responded to and gave a nod as a form of hello. "I've heard a lot of about you over the past week, Blaine Anderson, it's nice to finally put a face to the name." he concluded with another fake smile and a side glace at Sebastian that had Blaine wanting to roll his eyes.

Sebastian hadn't looked at Max, his eyes were only on Blaine and they never left him for a second. Blaine noticed that when the muscular possessive arm had been slung around his shoulders, Sebastian had grimaced slightly at the whole display. Sebastian Smythe didn't do boyfriends, he didn't do jealously and he definitely didn't do jealous possessive gestures.

After a few moments Sebastian shrugged the arm off his shoulders, much to Max's displeasure, giving the taller man a small smile before turning all his attention back to Blaine. Blaine could see out the corner of his eye that Max was silently fuming. He obviously wasn't happy about Blaine being here or that fact that he was the one getting all of Sebastian's attention.

Sebastian's words from the previous day swam into his mind: _"He gets a little jealous. Sometimes it's annoying. Sometimes it's cute."._ From Sebastian's reaction he was guessing that today it was the former rather than the latter.

"Shall we get a drink?" Sebastian suggested, motioning with his now empty bottle to the direction of the kitchen.

Before Blaine had a chance to answer, Sebastian had already started walking away. Blaine looked at Max quickly and was sure that he caught a glare in his eyes before he signalled for Blaine to follow Sebastian and turned away and moved over to another group of people who were sat down on the couches.

Blaine made his way into the kitchen, again taking in every aspect of the apartment, jealous that his didn't live up to it. He would never let Sebastian come to his apartment. He'd be way too embarrassed and Sebastian would probably just mock it, like he did everything else. No, he definitely wouldn't ever have Sebastian in his apartment.

Suddenly he was halted out of his train of thought.

"Is that…Blaine Anderson?" came a familiar voice.

Blaine looked up and turned to see Thad, a Warbler from Dalton staring out him a little open mouthed, a smile on his face.

"It is! Blaine, it's great to see you!" Thad said as he made his way forward to give Blaine a half hug, half hand shake, patting him on the back lightly.

"Hey, Thad." Blaine replied, stunned, a smile now on his own face mixed with a look of confusion. He hadn't expected anyone else that knew to be here, especially someone from Dalton.

When Blaine looked away from Thad who was babbling on at him about how great it was to see him and he hadn't changed a bit, in search of Sebastian, he was greeted with a knowing smile, a roll of the eyes and a cold bottle of beer.

"Ok, Thad, give him some space to breath, hey?" Sebastian said as he lent against the marble top of the breakfast island in the middle of the kitchen, giving the shorter man a light punch on the arm.

"Sorry." Thad replied looking a little sheepish and rubbing his arm where Sebastian's fist had landed.

"He isn't annoying you is he?" came a females voice from the doorway causing all three men to look up at the petite blonde standing there.

"I don't annoy people." Thad said, eyebrow furrowing as he looked at the woman who was leaning against the doorframe.

"Yes you do." Sebastian stated, nodding to himself, a grin on his lips and his eyes flicked up and locked with the girls in the door way, both of them brimming with laughter.

Blaine watched with a nervous smile on his lips as Sebastian and the girl shared the same silent joke and Thad folded his arms across his chest, bottom lip sticking out ever so slightly.

"Ellie, this is Blaine." Sebastian motioned after Thad had stopped huffing and once again used his beer bottle to signal between the two of them.

Ellie's eyes shot up and looked at Blaine, eyeing him curiously, but not in the same way that Max had, not filled with hatred, but more intrigued. She looked at Sebastian and the back at Blaine again and stepped forward.

"As in _the_ Blaine Anderson?" Ellie asked, her eyes excitedly looking around at all three men.

"Yep." Sebastian replied matter of factly, eyes tracing the outline of his socks on the floor below.

"Oh, I've heard lots about you, Blaine Anderson, all good things of course." She concluded with a nod and gave him her best winning smile before turning and moving forward, propping herself up against the breakfast bar, squeezing herself in-between Sebastian and Thad and hooking her arm around the latter's back.

"My sister." Sebastain stated as a form of explanation as he looked down at Ellie and lifted his spare hand to ruffle her long blonde hair, causing her to roll her eyes and nudge him with her elbow before looking back to Blaine.

"I hope my fiancé wasn't troubling you too much?" She asked and looked at Thad who was still rubbing his arm and gave him a smile before returning to look at Blaine.

Blaine couldn't help but let out a scoffed laugh in shock as he looked from Thad to Ellie before his eyes finished and locked with Sebastian who had also let out a small laugh. Sebastian's eyes were brimming with a knowing look and he had to divert his eyes away from Blaine quickly before he laughed again.

Blaine wasn't trying to be rude and he hoped that Ellie didn't think he was rude, but when they had all been at Dalton together, Thad had been the gayest student ever. He'd experimented with men and if anyone was going to be crowned Mr Gay USA then they would have all betted on Thad. The laugh was more from shock than anything else.

Blaine realised that he was still smiling with a bewildered look in his eyes and that Ellie and Thad were looking at him with confused looks on their faces at his strange outburst. Blaine looked up to Sebastian for some form of support but was met with the picture of Sebastian staring down at the floor once again, arms crossed over his chest, laughing into the neck of his beer bottle refusing to offer any assistance.

"I-" Blaine started, but was interrupted by two loud booming voices from the other side of the lounge.

"Blaine Anderson! It's true. You are here!" and "Smythe, you owe me twenty bucks!"

Blaine looked around and noticed two more familiar faces from his Dalton days. Jeff and Nick made their way towards the kitchen, nodding hi to Sebastian, Ellie and Thad, before giving Blaine a slap on the back and exchanging handshakes.

"Good to see you, man." Jeff exclaimed, a wide smile on face, his blonde hair now styled shorter, spikier than it had been back at school.

Blaine looked back and forth between them noticing their hands which were entwined and the two gold bands which were around their wedding fingers. He couldn't help but smile at this. Everyone in Dalton had always said that Jeff and Nick would end up together; they had always been inseparable, dating since they were sixteen.

"So then, hand it over." Nick demanded turning to Sebastian and holding out his hand waiting patiently. "Me and Seb had a bet on whether you were going to turn up or not. I said you would." Nick stated before pointing to Sebastian, "He said you wouldn't, that you'd come up with some random excuse to get out of it."

Blaine let the smile on his lips grow as he looked from Nick to Sebastian; both their eyes were still swimming with laughter. Sebastian shrugged at Blaine and gave out a muffled laugh before reaching into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet and twenty dollars and handing it over to Nick.

"Thanks. So then," Nick said looking down at everyone's nearly empty drinks before raising his eyes and scanning the room. "When are we starting shots?"

After Nick's suggestion of shots, they all took part in a couple of rounds, the group stuck together, each of them every now and again leaving to talk to others but eventually returning. Some people were drunker than others but Blaine, the Warblers and Ellie all seemed to pace themselves as though they were in it for the long haul.

At some point in the evening they made their way from the kitchen, giggling, clasping several bottles of liquor and made their way into the lounge where people were gathered in small groups, chatting, dancing, and playing drinking games.

They were joined by a couple of other people, including Max, which Sebastian seemed fine about, although he still didn't pay him much attention as Blaine would have expected seeing as everyone at the party was aware that they were in some kind of relationship, even if it didn't have an official name.

In fact every time that Sebastian turned to speak to Blaine, which he did for most of the evening, Max would shoot him suspicious looks through narrowed eyes, Sebastian ignored it or failed to see it but Blaine noticed it every time.

At around 11pm Blaine felt Sebastian move on the couch next to him and watched as he pushed himself up from the leather seat, and turn to make his way towards to bathroom before turning back to Blaine.

"I'll be back in a minute, ok?" Sebastian asked and quickly flicked his eyes to Max, questioning if Blaine was ok to be left alone.

"Yeah, that's fine." Blaine replied, nodding to reassure him.

Once Sebastian had gone, Blaine felt the couch dip under the weight of Max and he looked up and gave him the most welcoming smile he could conjure up. Max didn't smile back and Blaine could tell that he had a lot more alcohol than either himself or Sebastian.

"Do you realise how many times I've heard your name this week after we saw you in that coffee shop on Sunday?" Max drawled drunkenly, eyeing Blaine. "Seb hasn't shut up about you, insisted on going in to try and speak to you again every day this week."

Blaine flicked his eyes towards Max nervously, confused as to why Sebastian's boyfriend – kind of boyfriend – was telling him this. He looked up and scanned the group, his eyes only locking with Ellie's the other side of the table who was watching them anxiously, flicking her eyes from Blaine to Max. She gave Blaine a weak smile and frowned slightly in Max's direction before returning back to her conversation with Thad and Nick.

"Did you date him?" Max quizzed.

"What?" Blaine asked back, confused and shocked at the question.

"Did you date him? Sebastian. In high school?" Max uttered, this time more exasperated.

"No." Blaine stated, because it was true. Him and Sebastian had never dated.

"Right." Max said, seeming to relax a little. "He talks like you did."

Before Blaine could reply again, Sebastian reappeared, taking a seat on the arm of the couch next to Max, watching the two of them before returning his attention to the conversation that had started up around the table.

They were discussing tattoos, how many people had, how big they were, what they were of and most importantly where they were on each other's bodies. Some of the men pulled up their shirts to reveal their tattoos, turning it into a competition. Jeff surprised everyone by revealing his own tattoo of a star on his ankle, Nick told everyone it would be inappropriate for him to show his, giving Jeff a look and receiving a nod of confirmation as an answer causing everyone to groan.

"Hey Seb, what's your tattoo of? Max say's you've got one." Called a man from the other side of the room that Blaine hadn't been introduced to but had seen Max chatting and laughing with earlier that evening.

Blaine's head spun round in shock and looked at Sebastian who instantly looked sheepish as several other pairs of eyes followed suit. Sebastian Smythe had a tattoo. Blaine hadn't expected that. He had assumed that tattoos were something that Sebastian would frown upon.

Blaine watched as Sebastian's eyes flicked to Max giving him an annoyed look and then scanned the room, casting a look at his friends and then at Blaine before turning to the man and answering.

"It's no biggie, just a shit thing I got done in school." he stated, and before they were able to reply he stood up again, "Anyone for another drink?" he asked and made his way towards the kitchen.

The conversation about tattoos fizzled out not long after and once Sebastian had returned the topic was something completely different. More drinks flowed and everyone continued chatting, laughing and enjoying themselves.

It was around 1am that Blaine sat there smiling to himself that he realised that he had really enjoyed seeing the Warblers again and that he wanted to continue to do so. Sebastian had tried to make him as welcome as possible and Blaine couldn't help thinking to himself that he wanted to be friends with him, to see him again.

He felt drunk by this point, the first time in several months and checked his watch to confirm the time before pushing himself off the couch. He somehow had been left alone with Max and his friends, which in all fairness wasn't that bad, but he was curious as to find out where the others had vanished to.

As he made his way to the kitchen he caught sight of Jeff and Nick moving towards the front door.

"You guys going?" He asked, a little disappointed.

"Yeah, big family do tomorrow. My mum is insistent that we turn up. Turn up sober." Nick replied, giving Jeff a meaningful look. In response he got a small laugh from his husband and a grin followed by a shrug of the shoulders which made Blaine laugh himself.

"What about Thad and Ellie?" Blaine asked, now looking around the apartment in search of them with no such look.

"Guest bedroom." Jeff replied bluntly. "But I wouldn't go in there if you catch my drift." Jeff concluded and gave Blaine a wink.

"Too much information, babe." Nick stated and scrunched his nose up at the comment.

Blaine let out another small snort because the idea of Thad doing anything remotely sexual with a girl was laughable and also disturbing. He felt sorry for Ellie but in all honesty they seemed like a good couple and it was obvious from observing them that they loved one another.

"Sebastian's outside, I think." Nick said and looked out towards the balcony to check he was right. Blaine followed his gaze and could make out Sebastian shadow through the glass. "Getting some fresh air probably, especially after Max mollycoddling him all night." Nick concluded and turned back to Blaine with a smile on his face.

"It was good to see you, man. Don't disappear on us now, ok?" Nick demanded and tangled his fingers in-between Jeff's when they started to move toward the door.

"I won't. I'll see you soon." Blaine replied and held up his hand to signal them goodbye as they made their way to the door.

Once they had left, Blaine turned around on the spot and scanned the room once more before his eyes landed on the balcony and Sebastian figure leaning against the railing outside, looking down on the street below. He watched for several minutes and saw Sebastian raise his own hand in a wave, guessing that it was for Nick and Jeff down below.

Blaine made his way over to the balcony and slid open the patio doors, stepped out into the cool night air and closed it behind him.

"I don't want to get into this now, Max." Sebastian stated sternly.

"I'm not Max." Blaine replied matter of factly, moving to stand next to Sebastian and lean against the railings himself.

Sebastian looked up at him apologetically and raised his eyebrows before returning to face the road again.

"Nope, you definitely are not." Sebastian mumbled to no one in particular, a hint of frustration in his tone.

Blaine noticed that in his right hand he was holding a lit cigarette and watched as the Sebastian raised it slowly to his mouth and inhaled. Blaine realised after several seconds that he was staring at Sebastian neck and the muscles working under the skin and forced himself to look away. He didn't want Sebastian to catch him and mock him for his drunken gawking.

"I didn't know you smoked?" Blaine stated but it came out more of a question and scrunched his nose up at the smell of it.

"Only when I'm pissed or annoyed." Sebastian said matter of factly, giving Blaine a quick glace to gage his reaction of the smoke.

"Which is it now?" Blaine asked, his eyes still facing forward, not daring to look at Sebastian again because he knew that his drunken eyes would roam and he didn't want to.

"Both." Sebastian replied bluntly. "I'm drunk and Max is getting on my nerves."

"Why?"

"Because he's being a dick. He always is when he's drunk." Sebastian exclaimed and flicked the butt of the cigarette off the balcony into the street below.

Both men watched as it sailed down through the air and landed on the pavement below. They stared for several minutes in silence, neither of them saying anything, neither of them needing to.

"He's pissed off because you're here." Sebastian confessed, his face scrunching up in confusion. "Like I said the other day, he gets jealous. It's annoying."

"Why is he pissed off about me though?" Blaine asked. "There are loads of people here."

Blaine glanced at Sebastian and saw him shrug and bite his bottom lip ever so slightly. If Blaine hadn't been drunk himself, he would have sworn Sebastian was nervous.

"Probably because he thinks you're a threat." Sebastian reasoned after a minute or two.

"How?"

Sebastian didn't respond to Blaine, he just looked up back at him and gave another shrug. They stood in silence for two or three minutes and then Sebastian turned his body to face him, his arm still resting on the railing. He waited for Blaine to do the same. When he did, Blaine looked up at Sebastian expectantly waiting for him to say something.

He watched as Sebastian's eyes drunkenly flicked back to the lounge to where Max was sat with his friends and then back to Blaine, biting his lip as he did. He raised his free arm and hand up to hair and ran his fingers through it letting out a steady, smoky breath, his tongue flicking out to lick over his lips.

Blaine's eyes were fixed on Sebastian face, his eyes, his mouth, his lips, his tongue. He couldn't draw his eyes away. He watched as Sebastian looked as though he was having a battle with himself, as though he was going to say something but stopped himself at the last minute.

"I should go check on Ellie." He said bluntly and turned to move towards the door and opened it. "I won't be long."

Blaine watched as Sebastian moved back into the apartment and made his way up the hallway to the guest bedroom, knocked and then entered.

Blaine started to feel a bit queasy at this point, he didn't know if it was the alcohol or the cold air, but decided he'd be better off inside than out so moved towards the glass door, making his own way back into the apartment and sliding it shut behind him.

Water. Water would be a good idea at this point.

Blaine walked around the lounge and made his way to the kitchen in search of a clean glass. He filled the glass up with water from a jug in the fridge. It was refreshing and he downed it instantly and then got another.

He was the only person in the kitchen and as he drank he listened to the conversation around the apartment homing in on several of them before continuing on to the next.

He stopped when he heard Max talking loudly to his friends, the conversation had returned back to tattoos as it had earlier that evening. He was about to tune out when something caught his attention. He turned to watch them intently.

"So why was Sebastian so secretive about his tattoo anyway? Is it awful?" asked a man who Blaine recognised from earlier that evening, but couldn't quite place a name.

"I dunno. Bad memories or some shit." Max replied gruffly.

"What is it?" asked another nameless man.

"Something about love. I don't really get it." Max replied and shrugged, an annoyed look on his face.

"Oh, jeez. No wonder he didn't want to talk about it!" The first man, who Blaine is convinced, is called Chris, said and laughed a little.

"He tries to hide it." Max continued. "He says it was over some guy he fell for in high school and then broke his heart. Says it's a reminder never to allow himself to get sucked in again."

"Well that explains things." Chris replied giving Max a sympathetic and knowing look. "What does it say?"

"Love above all else. The word 'love' is underlined and the words 'all else' are below it. It's on his right forearm."

And that's when it clicked. Blaine put the glass down slowly on the marble surface and closed his eyes, steadying himself. Love above all else. Shit. Shit. Shit.

"_I love him."_

"_I know you do." _

"_This thing between us is just lust, Seb. Something we want because we can't have." _

"_Is it? Really?"_

"_Yes. Love is more important."_

"_Love above all else, hey?"_

"_Yeah." _

"_Well, fuck that."_

Shit.


	4. Chapter 4

"_I love him."_

"_I know you do." _

"_This thing between us is just lust, Seb. Something we want because we can't have." _

"_Is it? Really?"_

"_Yes. Love is more important."_

"_Love above all else, hey?"_

"_Yeah." _

"_Well, fuck that."_

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Blaine stood frozen on the spot, the memory of the words racing through his mind. The words that Sebastian was supposedly meant to have tattooed on his body as a constant reminder never to allow him to get sucked in by relationships and romance.

Blaine cursed to himself as he stood in the kitchen alone, watching the group of men talking in the lounge, their voices now a blur as his mind focused on other things.

The tattoo _had_ to be linked to Blaine, _had_ to be linked to that night. Sure, it could be argued that Sebastian might have met someone else, might have shared those words with someone else rather than him, but the reality of it all was that it was unlikely.

In his drunken haze, Blaine suddenly had an urge to leave, to walk out of the door without saying goodbye, go home to bed and curl up under the covers wishing the whole evening away, especially the last ten minutes. The ten minutes in which he found out that Sebastian had a tattoo that he had got when he was in high school over some guy he fell for and broke his heart.

Blaine scanned the room once more, before looking down at himself. It wasn't until this point that he noticed that he was clasped onto the marble kitchen top, his knuckles now white showing their strain.

He released his hands and pushed himself away before eyeing the front door of the apartment. If he left now, Sebastian wouldn't have to know anything, wouldn't question him too much, would just wonder where he disappeared to. No one was watching him and it would be easy to leave without anyone noticing.

He made his way from the counter and made a bee line for the hallway, eyeing Max and his friends cautiously as he did so, not taking in any of the other surroundings of the apartment.

"You looking for me?" A voice asked in a slurred tone, causing Blaine to halt suddenly.

When he looked around, Sebastian was stood a mere foot in front of him, eyeing him suspiciously. Blaine noticed that the alcohol was now having a more obvious effect on him also. No one would say that they were wasted but it was clear that both of them had had a few drinks.

He couldn't help but feel foolish that his plan had been so easily swatted by the one person that he was trying to avoid bumping into. Another indication that he was perhaps a little intoxicated. There was no way he was going to be able to make a quick exit now. Sebastian would ask questions. He always did.

"I was just about to head home." Blaine confessed, trying to give the most honest smile as possible.

Blaine's eyes failed to meet Sebastian's and he found himself looking at his right forehand where the supposed tattoo lived. It wasn't visible though, as Sebastian's rugby shirt was blocking his view, protecting it from revelation. Damn rugby shirts. Damn long sleeved clothing. He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, to forget about the tattoo and its meaning. He needed to compose himself. Compose himself quickly.

"Well you don't have to go just because the others did." Sebastian stated, his voice calmer now, less slurred than before as though he trying to focus on what he is saying. "You can stay."

"I was going-"

"Come on, Killer. One more drink. Don't leave me alone with this boring lot so soon." Sebastian interrupted, pleadingly pointing in the direction of Max and his friends. "Not Max, obviously. But the others, they don't half drone on about shit."

Blaine felt the corners of his mouth curve up into a smile and let out a muffled laugh as his eyes flicked back over to the group of eight people who were sat in the middle of the lounge, deep in conversation. He didn't know what caused the smile and small laugh to erupt from his lips, whether it was the fact that Sebastian had corrected himself so quickly - _Not Max, obviously_ - or that fact that what he was saying was true. Max's friends did talk about shit; he'd had the very same thought when he'd been listening in on their conversation a few minutes previous.

Before he had chance to answer, to argue that it really was time he went home, Sebastian was pushing Blaine back in the direction of the kitchen, where he picked up another two beers as they passed through and made their way to the seating area without any more discussion.

The only available seat remaining was a small two seat sofa, away from the rest of the group, facing them but secluded enough that they could have their own conversation. They maneuvered their way around the group and sat down. It was a tight squeeze and when they finally shuffled into place their legs were pushed against one another with no space to adjust.

Blaine couldn't help but look down at the legs touching, brushing against each other, denim next to denim, all snug and close. He glanced at Sebastian out of the corner of his eye and noticed that the taller man was doing exactly the same, staring mindlessly, as though they were both in a drunken trace, sharing one another thoughts.

A loud chorus of laughter shook them both out of their daze and caused them to take several gulps of their beer rather than talking straight away. Their eyes were fixed on the group in front of them, as they listened to the conversation for a few minutes before Sebastian turned his head slowly towards Blaine and rolled his eyes as if to say 'I told you so', breaking the tension and causing Blaine to let out a muffled laugh.

After a couple more minutes of sending each other sideways glances, half a bottle of beer later, it was Sebastian who spoke first. He lifted his eyes from the other group of people and turned in the seat, his leg brushing against Blaine's, to look at the shorter man.

"So come on then, Killer. You haven't told me yet." Sebastian quizzed, his voice almost a whisper, giving Blaine a nudge with his arm.

"Told you what?" Blaine replied, his innocent eyes coming up to look at Sebastian.

"About Hummel." Sebastian stated matter of factly, hissing out the word 'Hummel' as though it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"What is there to tell?" Blaine shrugged sheepishly, looking back to the group once again to avoid Sebastian's searching, eager eyes. He'd been waiting for the topic to come up.

"Well if I remember correctly, you gushed to me that he was the one?"

Blaine scoffed a little, his eyes flicking back to Sebastian who was looking at him with a raised eye brow.

"Yeah, well, who meets the person their meant to spend the rest of their lives with at seventeen?" Blaine quizzed and threw Sebastian a knowing grin before taking another sip of his beer.

"_He's the one, Seb."_

"_Screw that. Who meets the person their meant to spend the rest of their lives with at seventeen?"_

"_Me. I have."_

"_And Kurt Hummel is your answer? Is your one true love?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Right." _

"_What?"_

"_Nothing, but that's just bullshit. No one falls in love at seventeen and stays with the same person for the rest of their lives. It just doesn't happen"_

"_Yes they do and I will."_

"_Uh huh. Just don't moan when I say 'I told you so' six years down the line when you've dumped Hummel for the next cute piece of ass in town."_

"Let me guess," Sebastian drawled, his eyes leaving Blaine and returning to stare at the boring group of men in front of him who had now opted for the subject of how to change tires on cars and how awful women were at doing so. "You found yourself a hotter piece of ass and dumped that gay faced idiot?"

Blaine let out a small resentful laugh, before taking another sip and sliding down into the sofa more so. His head rested on the back rim, his legs spread out, pushing back against Sebastian's and he lifted his eye, concentrating on the textured ceiling above him.

Sebastian did the same, his head levelled with Blaine's, his legs spread slightly and he could feel the push of Blaine's leg tight against his own and pushed back against it. Usually in a situation like this, when people hadn't been drinking, the polite thing to do would be to make room or move the leg but neither of them did, quite content with each other's touch.

"He broke up with me, actually." Blaine said in a low voice, his eyes still fixed upwards even when Sebastian turned his head to look at him. He took a deep breath, and then opened up for the first time in months. "We broke up about a year ago. He said that he wanted to focus on his career and that being in a serious relationship was preventing him from doing what he wanted. We'd drifted apart a little as it was, barely seeing each other and that's when he decided to call it quits."

Blaine shrugged and looked sideways at Sebastian whose eyes hadn't left his face since he had started talking. They stayed silent for several moments, staring into each other, neither of them making the first move to speak.

At first Sebastian looked at him with shock and then he looked away, a frown clouding his forehead as he did, his lips turning into a thin, somewhat angry line. Blaine watched as Sebastian processed the information, how his face lit up with what he could only call annoyance.

"So, he just threw it away because of the acting?" Sebastian asked, checking that he had a clear understanding. "He decided that it was more important?"

"Well, when you put it like that, it makes it sound even worse!" Blaine exclaimed quietly, eyeing Sebastian who was focusing hard on the ceiling above, the frown still on his brow.

"Well in reality-"

"Yes in reality, he chose his career over me." Blaine interrupted and concluded, answering with the statement that he had become familiar with, that he had told himself over and over for months after the split.

Sebastian let out a low sigh and turned back to look at Blaine who was watching his face intently, a small smile on his lips, eyes glazed over from the alcohol. Sebastian eyes traced drunkenly and longingly along Blaine lips, staring intently for several moments before regaining his composure.

"He's a dick." Sebastian said matter of factly, with a nod.

Blaine let out a small choked laugh and his smile widened even more so. Trust Sebastian Smythe to be subtle. "Nice of you to say so, Seb."

Sebastian eyes filled with confusion for a moment, as though trying to think of the right words to say. It was a combination of the alcohol and the fact that he didn't want to piss Blaine off with how frank he could be when it came down to Kurt Hummel.

In the end he gave up trying to be rational.

"I mean it. He is a dick. He gave up being with you for a dream that he doesn't even know will come true. You don't just throw away years together. It's selfish, it's rude and it's stupid. Dickish. You're above his league anyway so he should have been clutching on to you with all his might in case someone else came along and snapped you up. He'll never get anyone like you again and he doesn't deserve to. You're better than that. You deserve so much more than that. So fuck him."

As he had been speaking, Blaine watched open mouthed as Sebastian voice had raised slightly, his face had contorted and he waved his arm around to emphasis his points. Something about the way he had been speaking reminded Blaine of when they were younger, the way that Sebastian would talk about Kurt then. He had to shake himself out of it and focus back on the present.

After his rant Sebastian turned to look at the open mouthed Blaine, a frown still on his own face. "Shit. Sorry. Shouldn't have ranted like that." He concluded and smiled apologetically when Blaine gave him a shrug.

"It's no big deal. Anyway, it was a year ago. It's the past."

Sebastian looked at Blaine, their eyes staring into each other for a moment. Maybe it was the alcohol but Blaine was sure that he saw some kind of regret in them. He couldn't take his eyes away and neither by the looks of it could Sebastian. It was as though he was about to say something and then at the last minute would stop himself.

This went on for several minutes, giving each other glances, meaningful looks, neither of them really understanding why and battling with their internal monologues, blaming the alcohol.

"So Hummel is definitely the past?" Sebastian asked slowly and curiously after a few minutes, not looking at Blaine directly, his eyes now skirting around trying to focus on anything else.

"Yeah. Definitely in the past." Blaine confirmed slowly, not able to look at Sebastian either.

"Good."

Neither of them said anything after Sebastian's final comment. Kurt Hummel wasn't mentioned again for a long time after that conversation. In fact since the conversation ended, Sebastian seemed a little distracted. Blaine made several attempts to make quick witted comments and start new conversations but they had failed to have any effect.

They both listened in to the conversations around them, sipping on their beers, comfortable in their own silence. It was only when Sebastian looked over at Blaine, nodding at his beer bottle with glazed eyes and asked if Blaine wanted another drink that they spoke again and got up finally from the seat and headed towards the kitchen.

As they stood up, both of them had had to steady themselves, the most recent beer kicking in and taking its toll. Blaine realised that his thoughts felt even hazier than earlier and hoped that his inner inhabitations didn't take control.

He stood against the kitchen island and watched as Sebastian moved around the space collecting them both a drink and popping the tops off with a bottle opener before handing it over.

Blaine's eyes fell onto Sebastian's arms as he reached up and put the bottle opener into the cupboard. He found himself suddenly thinking about the tattoo again; wishing that the rugby shirt's sleeve would fall down slightly to reveal it on his skin, but it didn't, it remained in place allowing no glimpse, snug against the muscle.

His gaze followed Sebastian's arm and he only realised that he was staring when Sebastian let out a small cough causing him to meet his eyes once again.

The alcohol was definitely taking effect now, his head felt a little woozy and the fact that he had been caught staring didn't bother him nearly as much as it should. On the plus side it didn't seem to bother Sebastian either.

Usually in a situation like this he would have blushed a deep red and blustered out some form of excuse for his actions. But not now. He had a confidence and suddenly he felt his brain telling him to just ask. _Ask him. Ask about it. Man up. _

"Can I ask you something?" He asked, a confident air to his tone causing Sebastian to look at him sceptically.

"Sure." He replied after a couple of moments.

"Do you really have a tattoo? Max was talking earlier, saying that you did."

Sebastian's eyes flicked over to Max, again the annoyance that have been present earlier shining in them. He bit his bottom lip slightly, almost nervously before turning back to look at Blaine, his eyes searching.

"What tattoo?" He asked with innocence, his eyes reflecting something else that Blaine couldn't quite put his finger on.

"The one on your forearm." Blaine replied matter of factly and signalled to Sebastian's right forearm with his bottle of beer, causing the taller man to glace down at it and then back to Blaine once again.

Sebastian didn't respond at first, instead he dropped his arm to the side of his body so that it wasn't in a direct line of vision any longer, to stop both himself and Blaine from staring.

"Let me see it?" Blaine eventually asked when he realised that Sebastian wasn't going to respond, most intent on biting down on his bottom lip and taking large gulps of his beer.

"No." Sebastian responded bluntly, his eyes now focusing on Max and the other group of men, avoiding Blaine's questioning face.

"Why?" Blaine asked after several moments of silence. He hadn't expected Sebastian to refuse. It was only a tattoo after all.

"Because it's for me. No one else. Just me." He replied calmly, glancing sideways to gage Blaine's reaction.

Blaine stared at him for a second, not sure what route to take next. He wanted to see if it was true. If Sebastian really had what Max had said on his arm.

"What is it of?" Blaine quizzed, hoping that this might actually get Sebastian to tell him, to confess.

"Nothing important. Some stupid shit. I wish I hadn't had it done." Sebastian replied almost straight away, an annoyed tone in his voice. "I'll get it removed at some point."

_Nothing important. Some stupid shit. _The words hit Blaine harsher than he had expected. Maybe the tattoo hadn't meant anything at all, maybe it was all a coincidence, maybe just maybe he'd read the whole situation completely wrong. The worrying thing now was that fact that when Sebastian had said 'nothing important' he'd felt a pang of upset build up inside of him, signalling that he was way to invested in the idea of Sebastian actually inking something on his body that was linked to him, linked to them even and the fact that he'd still kept it over the years.

Sebastian looked up at Blaine when he realised that there was no reply. He came face to face with Blaine frowning down at the marble surface, confusion plastered over his face as though he was thinking in deep thought.

He turned from where he was to face Blaine, causing the shorter man to do the same. For several moments he questioned whether to be honest, to tell him that the tattoo was about him, because if Blaine really had heard Max talking, he was fairly sure that Blaine knew exactly what the tattoo was about, what it said, what it meant.

All of a sudden he felt like a complete dick. _Nothing important. Some stupid shit._ In reality it was important; it wasn't just some random words that were printed on his arm. He had them put there for a reason. He'd also kept them there for a reason.

Suddenly he felt sick, a wave of guilt took over him as Blaine looked back at him, waiting for him to say something and all of a sudden he wanted to blurt everything out in his drunken state. He didn't though. He held back.

"I didn't mean…" Sebastian stopped himself unable to get his words out, not really sure what to say.

He looked down from Blaine's face to the marble surface where his free hand was resting and resisted the urge to reach out and touch it. To stroke the skin on Blaine's wrist like he had years previous, to reassure him, because that would be too much, that wouldn't be fair. On either of them.

Blaine's eyes followed Sebastian's and he swallowed hard pushing back any of his own drunk musings to the back of his mind. They stood in silence for several moments and Blaine only looked up when Sebastian shuffled closer than he had before, his eyes now fixed on Blaine, bearing into him.

Blaine stared right back at him, returning the look, millions of words passing silently between them as they had done earlier on the balcony.

Sebastian's eyes were scanning Blaine's face, scanning his cheeks, his nose, ending up on his lips, staring at them, causing himself to lick his own. If he had been anywhere else, with anyone else he would have reached up and kissed them. But not here. Not now. Not with Sebastian.

He was pretty sure it was the alcohol anyway, causing him to imagine certain things. Imagine the way Sebastian was still staring at him, his lips parted slightly, his toes brushing against Blaine's. The fact that the hand that had previously been resting on the marble surface ten centimetres away was now brushing his own fingertips. He really had no clue how it had happened, or why it was happening, or even how long they had been standing opposite each other like this. He didn't remember how they got to this point, it was all a haze in his mind.

The only thing that pulled Blaine out of the trance was the feeling that they were being watched. He dragged his eyes away from Sebastian and glanced towards the sitting area to be greeted with a set of angry eyes staring intently, watching their exchange.

Max looked furious; he obviously had been watching them for a while, his eyes dashed back and forth between both Sebastian and Blaine with confusion and rage. He locked eyes with Blaine and eyeballed him, causing Blaine to instinctively pull back from Sebastian's personal space.

"I think…maybe I should go." Blaine murmured, looking from Max back to Sebastian and all of a sudden, his cheeks flushed as though he had abruptly sobered up.

Sebastian eyed Blaine before quickly glancing in the direction of Max and pulling back himself, retracting his hand and putting a foot between them.

"You don't have to." Sebastian stated, the tone of his voice telling Blaine that he didn't want him to go but that it was probably for the best.

Blaine gave him a quick smile and started to move around the kitchen in the direction of the front door, one he reached it he pulled it open and stopped in the door way when he heard Sebastian's feet patter behind him.

He turned to be greeted with Sebastian with his arms crossed across his chest, his eyes looking sheepish and not daring to look at Blaine in the eye as he had been doing so, so intently in the kitchen moments earlier, as he leaned against the door frame of the apartment.

"Thanks for having me. It was great. I really enjoyed myself and it was nice to see the boys again." Blaine stated, smiling up at Sebastian.

"You're welcome anytime." Sebastian replied, his answer was honest and he gave Blaine a reassuring smile in response. "Please don't be put off by the green eyed monster."

Blaine let out a snort thinking back to the looks that Max had given him over the evening and part of his brain asked why the hell Sebastian was with someone like that, but he pushed them back into a black hole deciding that it wasn't the time to start thinking about such things.

"Right, anyway. See ya." Blaine stated and lifted his hand in a small wave, receiving one in return as he turned to make his way to the top of the stairs. He heard the door close behind him and steadied himself before descending down the three flights of steps.

He started off slowly and then rushed down the steps taking two at a time trying to get down to the bottom as quickly as possible. For the first time that evening he realise that his heart was racing, thudding against his chest. He blamed the alcohol.

As he reached for the front door, Blaine heard footsteps pounding on the stone steps behind him, causing him to turn around and see Sebastian coming to a sudden halt, a meter away from him, cheeks flushed slightly, eyes dancing as they locked with Blaine's. A grin on his face.

Blaine looked at him confused, with questioning eyes as Sebastian seemed to battle with his mind to compile the right words.

"Can we see each other again? I want to see you again." He blurted out and then grimaced almost immediately as he realised that it sounded like he was asking for some kind of second date.

He bit his lip, unsure how to get the right words out.

"I mean, hang out. Can we hang out again?" He questioned, more relaxed this time, obviously more satisfied with the fact that he didn't sound like a 14 year old asking their crush out on a date.

"Yeah. Sure." Blaine nodded in agreement, a genuine smile on his lips.

He did want to see Sebastian again. The past few days had been a roller-coaster, but it had been nice. Nice to have someone else apart from Hannah to talk to. Not that there was anything wrong with Hannah, but at times he wanted other people to see as well.

"Cool." Sebastian approved with a nod. "Look I meant what I said about Kurt. He really is a dick. You deserve better." Sebastian stated as he took a step closer to Blaine, staring into his eyes intently.

"Thanks." Blaine replied, now looking a bit sheepish, he hadn't been thinking about Kurt at all.

Blaine found it ironic actually and couldn't help mentally cursing to himself. He'd made his choice when he was seventeen, choosing the boy he thought would turn out best, who would be his everything, the one that would reassure him with words of wisdom and he had been wrong. Instead the boy that he'd turned down, tossed aside, was the one that was standing in front of him, saying those things to him, was the one that was making him feel better, the one that had made him feel better the whole evening.

Blaine watched as Sebastian moved another step closer until there were only a few centimetres separating them, so that he was looking directly down at him.

"B…the tattoo…it…" Sebastian murmured quietly.

"Don't worry about it. You don't have to show me."

"It's not that." Sebastian exasperated, tugging at his sleeve as though he wanted to lift it up and reveal it but there was something holding him back. "Do you know what it says?"

Blaine nodded, because in all honesty Sebastian was opening up to him more than he had expected, more than he had minutes earlier when they'd had other eyes carefully watching them.

"The tattoo…"

Sebastian let out a small laugh, and raised his eyebrows slightly before his facial expressions turned serious once again and he looked down at Blaine.

There was something in his eyes, something that had been there before when they had been talking in the apartment. Blaine couldn't quite place his finger on it but it was definitely there, dancing behind his eyelids.

"The tattoo…" Sebastian repeated as though trying to compose himself, "It's about you."

Blaine had known that it would be but the fact that Sebastian was admitting it to him, that he had purposely chased him down the stairs to confront him and let him know had shocked him.

"Don't be freaked out about it, ok?" Sebastian said, his eyes scanning Blaine's shocked face. "It was years ago and I just haven't had chance to get it removed." He reassured Blaine.

Blaine looked at Sebastian, they didn't have to say anything else, and there was a mutual understanding between them. He received a smile in return. Blaine noticed how Sebastian scanned his face again, focusing mainly on his lips.

"Can I see it?" Blaine asked, breaking the silence, afraid of the quiet between them.

"Dream on, Killer." Sebastian laughed. "Like I said, it's for me and no one else."

"But I was the inspiration behind it…" Blaine reasoned, a cheeky glint in his eye, causing Sebastian to let out a laugh and roll his eyes up at the ceiling before returning to look back down at him.

For a moment, his face turned serious, his eyes glazed over once again and became darker. Blaine looked directly into him and once again silence took over, this time not uncomfortable. Again it was like they were having a private conversation, only they were able to understand. Either that or the alcohol was playing tricks on them. Blaine thought that it was probably the latter and that if anyone was actually watching them at this very moment, they would think that they were a couple of weirdos.

Sebastian was the first to move, taking a step closer to Blaine and instinctively, Blaine took a step back causing Sebastian to close his eyes and let out a shallow raspy laugh.

"Blaine, i-" Sebastian started taking another step forward and this time because he was prepared Blaine stayed where he was, looking and waiting for Sebastian to finish what he wanted to say.

"Seb?" A loud and worried voice suddenly floated down through the stair wells, which was distinctively Max's. "You coming back up?"

"For fuck sake…" Sebastian murmured to no one in particular as his eyes glanced up at the ceiling, judging to see whether Max was still out on the hall way above them. "Why the fuck is he checking up on me?"

Sebastian didn't reply; he rolled his eyes and looked directly at Blaine once again and noticed the shorter boy was doing the same; he had a small smile on his lips, a knowing smile.

"You should go back up." Blaine stated and gently pushed on Sebastian's arm causing him to take a step backwards towards the bottom step. "Go on."

"B…."

"Go. Now."

"I'll call you, ok?"

"You can call me, I might not answer."

Sebastian let out a small laugh, cocking his head to one side. "You were always cocky once you'd had a drink, but that's the first time I've seen it this evening."

"Seb?" Max's voice called from three landings above causing Sebastian to give another annoyed look upwards before turning back to Blaine.

"See ya later, let me know you get home safe, ok?" Sebastian stated before turning and reluctantly walking back up the stairs, much slower than he had raced down them.

Blaine smiled, looked up towards the ceiling, imagining Max standing, waiting for Sebastian's return, a face of thunder, before turning to the door and pushing it open.

He caught the subway and was home with thirty minutes. The whole way back he couldn't stop thinking about the evening, about Jeff and Nick, about Jealous Max or 'Othello' as Blaine was going to refer to him to himself from now on, the tattoo, the way that Sebastian had got annoyed about Kurt and the goodbye, the way that Sebastian had stepped closer and closer until he was interrupted.

All the thoughts were whizzing around in his head, over lapping one another, unable to make much sense due to the alcohol and its effect that had kicked in when he had left Sebastian's apartment and been hit with fresh air.

He had to try and remember everything, to tell Hannah. Obviously he'd leave some details out, she didn't need to know everything but he made a drunken mental note to tell her the basics at least.

When he eventually crawled into bed, noting the time as 04:07am, he was shocked. Time flies when you're having fun. He checked his phone for any messages, which there were none. He hesitated for a second before opening up the text box and typing a quick message to Sebastian, before letting his phone fall on the bed next to him. He had said he would let him know he was home after all.

**04:10 – Home. Thanks again. Speak to you soon.**

It took less than 30 seconds for the phone to vibrate next to him and a notification to flash up on the screen, signalling that he had a new message from _**Sebastian Sexy Smythe**_**. **Blaine couldn't help scoff to himself as he opened up the message.

**04:10 – Good. Speak to you tomorrow. X**

_Tomorrow._ Not soon. _Tomorrow._ Blaine looked at the text and smiled, a weird feeling twisted in his stomach as he read the text over and over, his eyes focusing on the 'X' at the end, telling himself that it didn't mean anything. He didn't reply, there was no need. He put his phone down on the bedside table, pulled the covers up around him and tried to push all thoughts of the evening out of his mind, in hope of surrendering to sleep.

Ten minutes passed and he was just about to doze off when he heard his phone vibrate again. He reached out and saw Sebastian name flash up on his screen once again_**.**_He allowed his tired eyes to readjust and opened up the message and waited for it to load and stared with wide eyes when it eventually popped up on his screen.

**04:21 – Don't say I never give you anything. Night x**


	5. Chapter 5

Blaine didn't hear from Sebastian the next morning and he didn't try to contact him himself either. When waking up the next day after only a few hours of sleep, hundreds of different thoughts were running through his hazy mind.

He checked his phone several times looking at the last text that Sebastian had sent him the night (well morning to be precise, it had been 4am after all) before, staring down at it trying to decipher the meaning behind it. The tattoo in the picture stared back at him, open and honest.

He wondered if Sebastian would regret sending the picture, regret revealing the ink on his skin that he apparently was so keen to keep disclosed, not even letting some of his closest friends see. The only people that would have seen it would have been people who had seen Sebastian naked or had been intimate with him in some way. Max.

Max had seen Sebastian in_ that_ way, Max had seen the tattoo and the fact that he had, made Blaine feel peculiar and not in nice way. In fact if he hadn't been so stubborn he would have admitted that he was slightly jealous of the fact that Max had seen Sebastian half naked.

Fuck. Jealously. He knew what that meant.

His mind also wandered back to those final moments the night before when they had been stood in the entrance way to Sebastian's apartment block and the way that the taller man had moved closer and closer until – Max.

Othello. The Green Eyed Monster. Ron in Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire. Any of the metaphors would suffice to describe him and his raging blatant jealously.

Max had interrupted their conversation but Blaine couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he hadn't. Even though he had been tipsy, bordering on drunk and some of his thoughts were muddled, he could have sworn that Sebastian had been moving closer, invading his personal space, licking his lips just like someone who was about to kiss another.

Shaking the thoughts out of his mind, Blaine rose out of bed and had headed to the shower. Once inside he mind drifted back to the previous evening, the brushing of legs, the way that Sebastian had been so annoyed with Kurt after his revelation of their split. The way Sebastian had asked to see him again. No not see him, hang out again. Casually, of course.

The churning in his stomach pulled his attention back to present and when he looked down he felt and saw his half hard cock bounce against his pelvis. _Shit. Shit. Shit._

Luke warm water filled the cubicle within seconds as Blaine turned the knob cursing himself and his body for betraying him, trying to remember what he had been thinking of when his cock had decided to rebel.

His mind whizzed through the thoughts before freezing on the memory of standing on the balcony outside Sebastian's apartment. He remembered how Sebastian's eyes had drunkenly flicked back and forth between himself and Max who was sitting inside, how he had bitten his lips nervously and ran his hand through his hair, as his tongue, _oh god that tongue_, had flicked out over his lips as he'd let smoke escape from between his mouth.

Usually Blaine didn't like smoking, hated it even but as he thought back to that moment there was something quite sexy about Sebastian Smythe surrounded by smoke on a winters evening.

Before Blaine even realised what he was doing, his hand reached down and cupped itself around his now throbbing cock, giving it a few thrusts before finally coming to his senses and pulling away hastily, turning the knob once again so that the water that streamed down on him was now freezing cold.

Several moments later his erection was dropping as he forced his mind to think of the most unpleasant images and mumbled the words _'cold water' _over and over until his was flaccid once again.

Not trusting himself to stay any longer, alone, in the shower, where it seemed his mind was persistent on teasing him, Blaine quickly got out of the cubical and wrapped himself up in a towel.

Coffee. Hannah. That was the plan. There was nothing in that combination that would be able to distract him and allow his mind to wander into the forbidden forest of drunken haze where he wasn't sure if he wanted to venture or not.

He got himself sorted within record time, his head still pounding as he made his way out of his apartment and to the coffee shop.

When he walked in he was greeted by Hannah's beaming smile and a quick wave as he made his way towards her and the growing smell of ground coffee beans.

"Tell me everything. I want details!" Hannah demanded as soon as he reached the counter before he'd even had chance to sit down.

She slid a mug of coffee towards him, as though she had been eagerly waiting for him to arrive and so that they didn't have to go through all the usually pleasantries to delay what they both were fully aware was going to be the main topic of conversation for that day.

"There's nothing to tell." Blaine stated once sat down and giving Hannah a nod of thanks for the coffee that he oh so needed.

"Don't give me that." Hannah scoffed, "You went to the guy's apartment, you met his friends, you spent time with _him_. I want to know everything."

"My brains too frazzled to go into detail. Ask me questions. I'll answer." Blaine mumbled into his coffee realising that it would be easier if Hannah simply asked what she wanted to ask rather than him having to relay every detail and sound like a gushing idiot.

"Frazzled? Did you get drunk!" Hannah exclaimed, wide eyed.

"Yep."

"Blaine Anderson getting drunk. That's one for the books. I didn't know they did alcoholic coffee."

"Haha. Next question."

"Was his boyfriend there? What's his name?"

"Othello. And yes." Blaine replied trying with all his might not to roll his eyes or let his dislike show.

"Othello?"

"Think about it."

Blaine watched as Hannah puzzled over the name for a few moments before turning back to him once again and shrugging.

"Whatever. What was his apartment like? I bet it was swanky. I bet it was like you see in the movie, all designer, painted magnolia and big open glass windows?" Hannah gabbled, looking at Blaine for his answer.

In response he lifted up his coffee and simply nodded before taking a large sip and giving a wince as his head throbbed gently reminding him of the last thing he had had to drink.

"Jesus. He must be loaded. And you're sure he's gay?" She asked, "Because if he isn't. Well, you know…" She concluded wiggling her eyebrows and presenting herself to Blaine.

"Definitely gay, Han." Blaine mumbled, while still taking sips of his now cooling coffee. "Has been from birth, from what I can make out."

"How are you so sure though?"

How was he sure? Maybe it was the looks that Sebastian had been throwing his way the previous evening? The way they had been in high school? The way that Sebastian had inked his own skin as some sort of confession or reminder of how he had supposedly fallen in love with at the age of 17.

"Boyfriend. Remember?" Blaine lied, raising his eyebrows when Hannah looked disappointed.

"Oh yeah. So was it a wild party?"

"Wild party? Hardly. It was chilled out. We chatted, we drank. I saw some old friends as well."

"That's great! And when are you going to see him again? Or are you going to try and avoid him again? Do you want to see him again?"

"_Can we see each other again? I want to see you again." _

Blaine shrugged in response avoiding any answer to the question because in all honesty the same question had been whizzing through his own mind. Sure, people say things when they've had a drink but the more he thought about it now, the more he wondered if Sebastian would actually want to see him again, especially after the late night confessions of the previous evening.

"Well?"

"I don't know."

"Why?" Hannah asked, leaning forward on the counter, propping herself up on her elbows and watching Blaine closely.

Blaine mulled his response over while he took sips of coffee, trying to decide whether to tell Hannah all the details or not. He finally decided that, yes, he did need some guidance and that Hannah was probably the best, and only, person that he could tell.

"It's a bit complicated…"

"Oh god. Did you kiss him?"

"No! No I did not."

"Did he kiss you!"

"No! Just listen ok." Blaine stated and waited for Hannah to give him a nod before continuing. "It was fine. I arrived and he came and met me downstairs. We walked up together and I met some of his friends and saw his boyfriend-"

"-Othello?"

"Yep. Then we had a few drinks, chatted to some people I knew from school and I met his sister. She's nice. Really sweet. In fact she's marrying one of the guys I went to school with."

"Aww. Cute."

"Indeed. Anyway, after a while they all went their separate ways and I was left alone. I was listening to this conversation between a few of the people at the party. About tattoos and they mentioned that Seb had one."

"Seb? Shortening names now are we? How adorable!" Hannah mocked, sticking her tongue out at Blaine.

"Shut up. Do you want to hear this or not?" Blaine questioned, a half annoyed scowl appearing on his face.

"Sorry. Sorry. Keep going." Hannah retreated, raising her hands in defeat as a signal for him to continue.

"Right anyway. This tattoo. Apparently no one has seen it, well apart from his boyfriend. I was shocked because in all honest from what I know about Sebastian, he is one of least likely people to have tattoos. So the evening carried on, I spent time alone with him outside chatting, he was annoyed about something and wanted to let off some steam. We then went inside and hung out with the others and I asked him about his tattoo when we were alone. He seemed really cagey about it. Didn't want to say what it was."

"Well that's fair enough. People sometimes don't like admitting they have tattoos."

"Yeah, but I'd already heard what it was. A quote. 'Love Above All Else'."

"Romantic. I can understand why he wouldn't want people to know."

"Mmm…It's just, when we were younger, we had this thing. Not a relationship but we liked each other and one evening when I told Sebastian I was choosing my ex over him, he'd said those words to me."

"Right?" Hannah questioned looking somewhat confused.

"Well, when his boyfriend described the tattoo, he said that Sebastian had got it _'over some guy he fell for in high school and then broke his heart' _and apparently it was a_ 'reminder never to allow himself to get sucked in again.'" _

"Fuck."

"Mmhmm."

"Are you the guy?"

"Well…"

"Oh god, please tell me you are. This is turning into a Nicholas Sparks novel!" Hannah squealed.

Blaine shot her a look, groaning as his friend literally bounced up and down behind the counter insisting for more details.

"Come on. Tell me there is more to this story. Don't end it there!"

"Right ok. But.." Blaine paused, putting his cup down and raising a finger to Hannah. "…you don't tell anyone any of this. You got it?"

"Got it!" Hannah exclaimed, a little too eagerly for Blaine's liking.

"Ok. So he wouldn't show me the tattoo and brushed off my comments but then later when I was leaving he followed me downstairs and told me that actually the tattoo was about me."

"Oh my god…." Hannah exhaled, biting the side of her lip as she listened intently.

"I asked if I could see it and he said no. We were on our own and he asked if we could hang out again."

"Yes!"

"And although I'd had a few drinks, Han, I swear he was about to kiss me until his boyfriend came looking for him." Blaine mumbled the last few words, a flush of red rising to his cheeks.

"Thank goodness."

"Why thank goodness?"

"Because he's with someone!"

"Mmm." He hummed as images of the previous evening flashed to the front of his mind.

"Is that it? That where it ends? You haven't spoken to him again?"

"He text me." Blaine confessed reluctantly, not quite meeting Hannah's eye, focusing more on the swirls in his coffee cup.

"Ok…"

"With a picture."

"Of?"

"The tattoo." Blaine uttered, finally looking up at Hannah once again.

"Oh Jesus. You two are going to get married. This is like the ultimate love story!" Hannah gushed, her eyes dancing and a huge smile on her lips.

"Shut up."

"Why did he show you?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing it was because he was drunk."

"Or he wanted you to see?"

"Mmm, maybe." Blaine pondered, tapping the side of his coffee cup with his fingertips assessing the situation properly for the first time that day as his head finally started to clear up.

Hannah left him to his own thoughts as she busied herself clearing away tables and serving other customers and he eventually turned to the newspapers for that day and started flicking through them.

He planned on spending the majority of the afternoon here, sitting, reading and nursing himself back to full health, alone with the odd interjection from Hannah.

After 2 hours and four cups of coffee, once he had finished reading two of the main newspapers, he received his first text message of the day.

_**Sebastian Sexy Smythe: 14:10 – How is the head? **_

He stared down at the text, trying to find any hidden messages or underlining meanings in the words before replying almost instantly.

_**Blaine Anderson: 14:11 – Much better. And yours?**_

He went to reread over the first text that Sebastian had sent and one thing stood out, causing his stomach to clench. Kisses. Last night Blaine had drunkenly noticed that Sebastian had put kisses on his texts however now in the light of sober daytime the kisses were missing.

Something inside of him felt almost disappointed and he had to physically give himself a small shake to knock some sense back into himself.

It didn't take long for Sebastian to reply again.

_**Sebastian Sexy Smythe: 14:12 – Perfect. Unlike you, Anderson, I can handle my alcohol. What are you doing today?**_

_Unlike you, Anderson, I can handle my alcohol._

Blaine looked at his phone unsure what to say. Familiar words dancing on the screen. Memories. Why was Sebastian asking what he was doing? He replied a little dishonestly.

_**Blaine Anderson: 14:12 – Nothing. Just at home.**_

He felt a twang of regret for lying but in his hazy mind he felt it was for the best. He also hadn't asked any returning questions, he hadn't given Sebastian any reason to message him back again either. When his phone buzzed on the surface next to him a couple of minutes later, he couldn't help but frown. No one else would be messaging him; he knew that it would be Sebastian.

_**Sebastian Sexy Smythe: 14:13 – Liar.**_

Fuck. Another buzz.

_**Sebastian Sexy Smythe: 14:14 – Tell Hannah I'll have my usual. See you in 2 mins.**_

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. How had he known?

Blaine looked nervously around the coffee shop expecting to see Sebastian standing behind him, lurking, claiming that he'd been there for hours but he wasn't.

His cheeks flushed instantly at the thought of seeing him again because in all honesty this was getting ridiculous. This man that he hadn't seen for seven years was working his way back into his life and Blaine wasn't sure what to do.

He wanted to be friends with Sebastian but if he was honest with himself, he still had some reminiscent feelings towards him from seven years previous that were surfacing again and he didn't know what the fuck to do about it.

Sebastian Smythe. Sexy Sebastian Smythe who he had pushed to one side when they were younger, who had got a tattoo about him, who had nearly kissed him (maybe?) the previous evening, who had a dick of a boyfriend, was coming to meet him without an invite. In two minutes. One minute.

This was not what Blaine had planned. Fuck.

He could almost feel the red burning his skin now, as his cheeks blushed crimson as he thought back to a few hours earlier when he had been stood in his shower cubicle, pumping up and down on his cock thinking about said man.

"Shit." Blaine muttered under his breath, loud enough for Hannah, who was three foot away to hear.

"What's wrong?" She said turning to look at him.

"I think he's probably swearing because I caught him lying to me." Sebastian's voice echoed around the coffee shop, causing Hannah to look up and give him her best winning smile.

"Oh dear." She replied simply, turning to eye Blaine before turning to make Sebastian's coffee order.

Blaine waited for Sebastian to come and sit down beside him before he looked up, unsure and somewhat shamefacedly. He was met by a bright grin and raised eyebrows.

"I'd be offended if I actually thought you'd meant it in a nasty way." Sebastian stated and Blaine relaxed a little seeing that Sebastian wasn't annoyed.

He noticed the taller man's tired eyes, dark bags beneath them as he took in Sebastian's appearance. His eyes quickly roamed over Sebastian noticing that he was wearing dark jeans and a stylish leather jacket, below was a bright white t shirt which brought out the colour of his naturally sun kissed tanned skin.

"So then, Killer, How's the head?" Sebastian asked with a grin, bringing a hand up to ruffle into Blaine's curls.

Blaine pulled away scrunching his eyes together and plastered a scowl on his face before returning to look at Sebastian.

"It could be better." Blaine mumbled causing Sebastian to openly laugh at him.

"Well like I said. You can't handle you alcohol. Never have been able to."

"Mmm" Blaine mumbled in response as Hannah arrived to hand Sebastian's coffee over.

"Well Seb, I dunno what you've done to him but I've not seen him like this before!" Hannah mocked, signalling to Blaine with her thumb. "You on the other hand. You look quite good. Tired but good."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Sebastian said with a grin as he shuffled on his stool to try and get comfier.

Blaine looked up from his own dregs to see Sebastian now pushing his jacket off his shoulders, collecting it in his arms and placing it on one of the stool next to him.

He hadn't realised until now that on the other occasions that he had been around Sebastian, the taller man had _always_ worn long sleeved shirts or jumpers however here he was, in a plain white t shirt. Arms on show.

Blaine watched as he placed one arm in his lap as the other lifted and settled it on top of the bar.

And there it was. The tattoo. The tattoo that Sebastian had been so adamant that he wasn't going to reveal, open for everyone and anyone to see, in full view, almost teasing him.

He couldn't take his eyes away. As Hannah and Sebastian conversed between themselves Blaine found his eyes finding their own way to it, burning into the skin, tracing the outline of the ink, taking it in.

It wasn't ugly. In all honesty the black ink on olive skin looked nice. It wasn't over the top. Simple and straight to the point and Blaine had to admit that he was a little taken aback by it. The picture that Sebastian had sent him definitely didn't do it justice.

It took all his might not to actually reach out and trace the lines with his fingertips.

He didn't realise that the conversation had died around him and that Hannah had moved away from him to serve another customer until he heard Sebastian clear his throat conspicuously to catch him attention.

Immediately he realised that he had been caught and when he finally looked back up he, noticed Sebastian staring at him intently, a small smirk on his lips and silently cursed himself for being so obvious.

"Something catch your attention, B?" Sebastian queried in a teasing tone.

Blaine shot him a narrowed eyed glare before relaxing slightly and biting his lip not really sure where to go from this point.

Sebastian had just caught him staring, maybe even drooling, over a tattoo that was supposedly about him and called him out on it. Really, where did people go from there?

As he scrolled through the many responses that he could come back with, he heard Sebastian chuckle next to him and watched as his eyes left Blaine and he shook his head in amusement.

"Sometimes, B, it's like you haven't changed in seven years." Sebastian stated.

Blaine looked directly at him and lifted his eyes brows in a questioning look.

"Like now," Sebastian went on to explain, "You're blushing just like you used to when someone called you out on something, but at the same time, you're completely different."

"How?" Blaine asked, because he really didn't know how he was different.

"Well you're a lot more forward for starters. Seventeen year old Blaine would never openly gaze lovingly at my tattoos." Sebastian said jokingly.

"I wasn't..You didn't have tattoos then. And it wasn't lovingly. It was in shock. That's all." Blaine defended himself, causing the taller man to let out another small laugh.

"Sure, sure." Sebastian nodded and threw him another grin.

"I was intrigued."

"Sure." Sebastian said again with a nod.

Something about the way he nodded, the glint in his eye, the confidence, made Blaine's stomach retract. If this had been anyone else, this would have been classed as flirting. But not here, not now. Why? Because Sebastian had a boyfriend. Sebastian was off limits. Sebastian was an uncertainty that Blaine wasn't actually sure he wanted to get involved with. This wasn't flirting. Sebastian was like this with everyone. The problem was, Blaine wasn't.

Blaine didn't do squabbling. He didn't gaze at people or feel sick (in a good way) over someone. He hadn't since Kurt and wasn't about to start. Although if he was honest with himself he was pretty sure he already started.

"Anyway, I wanted to say that I'm sorry about Max. He gets a bit possessive sometimes." Sebastian explained sheepishly changing the subject, eyeing Blaine to gage his reaction.

"Othello….Othello! Oh my god, I get it now!" Hannah suddenly burst out coming back towards them, causing both men to look at her, her eyes full of laughter. "Clever, Blaine. Very clever!"

Blaine scowled at her, his eyes wide, trying to send telepathic messages of '_Shut the hell up!' _but to his dismay it didn't work.

It was only when Sebastian looked back and forth between them, a small knowing smile growing on his own face that Hannah suddenly realised her blunder.

"Please tell me that you haven't been referring to my boyfriend, whose name is Max, by the way," Sebastian stated, looking pointedly as Hannah, "as Othello. I mean I get it. I see the similarities, but that is such a Hummel comment, B!" Sebastian said with an air of confidence, laughter playing in his voice.

"No. No. No. It was just….a….a….crossword clue that we were trying to work out earlier!" Hannah back peddled desperately, giving a somewhat confident and matter of fact nod that in all honesty would have fooled most people.

But not Sebastian Smythe. Not Sebastian, who at this moment in time had a grin as wide as the Grand Canyon and was staring intently at Blaine causing a flush of red to rise to his cheeks.

"Othello.." Sebastian muttered under his breath and shook his head from side to side in amusement. "I'm going to have to tell Ellie that one." He concluded with a wink at Hannah and turning back to give Blaine a sincere and genuine smile to show that he wasn't the least bit annoyed.

If Blaine could have summoned a black hole to come and swallow him up this would be the exact moment. Right now.

"Anyway, I did want to talk to you about something." Sebastian announced, interrupting the silence as he looked at Blaine who was not daring to meet anyone's eyes, very much so adopting the role of his seventeen year old self that Sebastian claimed that he was still so similar to. "Thad is having a stag do before the wedding."

Blaine looked up at him slightly puzzled when he didn't elaborate, his brow creasing to show his confusion.

"I…we…thought you might like to come on the night out? It'll be good, the warblers will be there." Sebastian continued, looking eagerly at Blaine.

"Oh, Blaine doesn't do clubs and he definitely doesn't go to clubs and get drunk!" Hannah interupted, rolling her eyes to show how boring she thought he was.

Blaine scoffed a little, and rolled his eyes in return as Sebastian turned all his attention to Hannah.

"Oh yes he does. I can tell you from personal experience that Blaine definitely does clubs, in fact I seem to remember him enjoying them quite a lot and as for the getting drunk? He's rather good at that as well." Sebastian said giving Hannah the second wink of the day before turning back to look at Blaine once again sporting a familiar wicked grin.

Within seconds Blaine was transported back to when he was seventeen all over again.

"_Blaine. Shut up and just drink the water." Sebastian mumbled as he held the shorter boy up with one hand and a glass of water in the other._

"_No. I'm fine. Fine. Fine." Blaine replied swatting at the glass of water in an attempt to make it go away._

"_Jesus, B. Stop being an idiot and just drink the fucking water."_

"_No."_

"_You're a child."_

"_Nooo. You're a child!" Blaine imitated and poked at Sebastian's chest pressing him up against the bar so that the taller boy was trapped._

"_You're drunk."_

"_You're sober."_

"_No, unlike you, Anderson, I can handle my alcohol." Sebastian stated raising the glass in his hand once again and waving it slightly to get Blaine to take a drink._

_Blaine looked from Sebastian to the glass and back again, settling his eyes on the Warbler. They were glazed over and it took several moments for Blaine to focus fully. Once he did he stared at Sebastian, his eyes never leaving his face, filling with something that could only be described as lust. He moved forward, his lips parting slightly as he placed his hands either side of Sebastian's torso to rest against the bar. _

"_God, you're beautiful." Blaine murmured after a minute or so, his voice slurring from the alcohol._

"_Oh Jesus, Killer. You've lost it." Sebastian said sheepishly, pushing forward trying to move out of Blaine's hold but failing miserably._

"_No. I haven't."_

"_Blaine…"_

"_I really want to…" Blaine started, looking up at Sebastian who now looked unsure about what to do, shuffling on his feet, glass still held up to signal Blaine to take a drink._

"_Blaine. Stop."_

"_I can't."_

"_Yes, you fucking can." Sebastian replied curtly, annoyance showing in his voice for the first time that evening._

"_I really want to…"_

"_Dance. Ok. Let's go dance."_

"_That's not what I was going to say." Blaine said as he pulled back away from the bar, a scowl appearing on his forehead as he continued to stare at Sebastian._

"_I know. But it's better if you don't say anything at all. Now drinking the fucking water and let's go dance this off." Sebastian replied, the exasperation dropping from his voice as Blaine reached out to take the water from his hand._

"What do you think?" Sebastian asked, intruding his memory.

Blaine looked at Sebastian and then at Hannah who was nodding for him to go before returning to lock with green hopeful eyes.

"I dunno if it's the best idea.." Blaine started.

"Max isn't going." Sebastian stated, as though that was a reason that might change his mind.

Blaine looked at Sebastian a little taken aback because, yes that might have changed his mind, but the fact that Sebastian was using as bartering material to convince him to attend was interesting and a little confusing all at once.

"When is it?"

"Next week."

"Let me think about it." Blaine concluded when in fact his internal monologue was screaming: _Yes, I'll go! I'll go!_

They carried on chatting, the three of them for another hour or so. Not about anything important, music, films and books before Blaine announced that he needed sleep. Sebastian claimed the same as well and they both ended up getting up to leave at the same time.

As they got themselves sorted and collected their belongings, Hannah looked down at Sebastian's arm and signalled to his tattoo.

"Nice tattoo." She stated with a genuine smile, before quickly glancing at Blaine and saying her goodbyes as she rushed back into the kitchen.

Sebastian gave Blaine a knowing look which caused him to blush even more so because obviously Sebastian wasn't stupid. Obviously he knew that Blaine had told Hannah everything. Seventeen? He felt more like thirteen.

As they made their way out of the coffee shop they wandered in the same direction. Blaine had assumed that Sebastian was going to the subway but when they passed it and he didn't make any attempt to say goodbye, he stopped in his tracks to look at him causing the taller man to do the same.

"Where are you going?" Blaine asked, taking in Sebastian in his leather jacket, hands pushed into his pockets.

"I'll walk you."

"Walk me where?"

"Home, you idiot." Sebastian scoffed and rolled his eyes before picking up the pace again causing Blaine to catch up with him.

They walked together in silence at first, watching the people go by and then started chatting. Talked about the Warblers, Nick and Jeff and how they had got married and when they had got married and Blaine was pleased that he knew more information. Pleased that he had been able to see them the previous evening and was now hoping that he would see them again.

They lost track of time and before Blaine knew it they were outside his apartment block. A less impressive building then Sebastian's but still pleasant looking, built with red brick and large bay windows.

"This is me." Blaine signalled behind him once he stopped walking and turned to Sebastian.

"Ok." Sebastian nodded, taking in the building before focusing his eyes back on Blaine looking down at him.

They were a meter or so apart and both of them stood in silence unsure of what to say, not really wanting to end the conversation or knowing how to.

Blaine noticed how different Sebastian was when he wasn't around other people. This character in front of him now was different to the Sebastian he had seen in the coffee shop half an hour before. It was different to the Sebastian he had seen at the party when they had been chatting in the kitchen with Ellie and the others.

It was more like the Sebastian he had seen the night before, at the bottom of his staircase, open and honest. A Sebastian that had seen when he was younger and they had been alone.

He liked it. He liked seeing this side of him. The side where he wasn't overly confident and mocking, but a more sensitive and sincere side.

"So, do you think you'll come?" Sebastian finally asked, eyeing Blaine, his own cheeks turning a light shade of pink which Blaine guessed was due to the fact that Sebastian wasn't used to asking people to come to places, they usually followed him. Or due to the fact that it was obvious that he wanted him to come.

"I think so." Blaine stated, nodding and giving him a smile in return.

"Good."

Blaine watched as Sebastian's eyes were back on him once again, unsure of what to say next. If Blaine hadn't been so eager to find out what was going through his mind he might have found it a little comical how un-Sebastian like the taller boy was being.

Blaine watched as he bit the side of his lip as he had done the night before and as Sebastian took a step forward closing the space between them once again. A familiar sensation filled Blaine's stomach and he found it hard to swallow as Sebastian looked at him intently, the way he had been the previous evening when Blaine had been sure that he might have kissed him.

Suddenly he was backing away once again. His eyes dropped from Blaine for a split second before returning to gaze directly at him. A forced grin on his lips, the confident grin that he wore when other people were around.

"Right Anderson, I should go." Sebastian stated, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets.

"Yep." Blaine nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to take it that you're coming next week and I'll pick you up. Ok?"

Pick him up? Sebastian was picking him up? Like on a date. Oh Jesus.

"Ok." Blaine replied because it was the only word that he could form at that moment in time.

Blaine watched as Sebastian eyed him with amusement before turning on the spot with a wave and half jogged, half walked across the other side of the road in the direction of the subway, throwing a few quick glances over his shoulder as he went.

Blaine watched him go and then turned and made his way back into his apartment thinking about what he had signed up for. A night out with Sebastian. A _drunken_ night out with Sebastian. That would definitely be interesting.

That evening he kept thinking about the events of the previous two days, how things had changed so quickly. About what the next weekend had to hold.

When he got into bed his mind was still spinning, his thoughts were muddled and when his body rebelled him as it had done earlier that day in the shower, instead of refusing it, he gave in. His mind not thinking of anything apart from black ink on tanned skin.


	6. Chapter 6

**Pairing -** _Seblaine_

**Summary -** _Future!Seblaine - Blaine is living in New York, he is getting his life back on track and suddenly bumps into the last person he expected to or wanted to?_

**Words -** _6293_

**Rating -** _M - Eventually - later chapters_

**Authors notes -**_ I hope people are still enjoying this and they like it! I hope it pleases! This one was hard to write….i've had to split chapter 6 into two part so it actually makes up chapter 6 and 7….does that make sense?! Anywho! Chapter 7 to follow soon (next week!). __**Also thank you so much for the previous comments/reviews! Please comment, like, give advice or simply enjoy :) **_

To say that Blaine was ready would be an understatement. Blaine had been ready for the past three hours, pacing back and forth in his apartment, wearing the carpet thin as he waited anxiously for Sebastian to arrive.

They'd agreed via text message that Sebastian would pick him up at seven and then take them both on to the stag do in his car. It was the only contact they'd had all week and although Blaine had been tempted to further their conversation through text, he had resisted telling himself if was better off that way.

Sebastian hadn't text either, which suggested he was in agreement or that he wasn't interested in texting Blaine apart from arranging particulars. Either way Blaine had found that the lack of texts and contact that he had just started to become accustomed to, disappointed him.

He had spent the best part of his week planning his outfit for this evening. It had consisted of smart jeans, a checked shirt and a blue bow tie, but as he'd got dressed four hours earlier, he didn't feel right.

The outfit was all wrong. Too preppy. Too high school.

What followed was an hour fashion show of trying on various different combinations of clothing and a huge mess on his bedroom floor where he dumped the rejected pieces.

Blaine never got flustered about what he wore. In fact he was usually pretty good when it came to fashion, but this evening he just couldn't get it right and he wanted to. He needed to. He wanted to look hot, wanted to make people stop and stare, wanted his clothes to scream style and confidence.

He wanted people to think he looked good. Correction, he wanted Sebastian to think he looked good. Oh god, he wanted Sebastian to think he looked good?

So here he was, pacing back and forth sporting the outfit that he had decided looked best for the occasion: his beige chinos, which turned up at the bottom, his blue fitted shirt, tight across his chest, showing off his toned abs and pecs and navy suspenders hooked up over his broad shoulders.

No bow tie. No tie either, just an open collar with the first few buttons undone down to where the fluff of his chest hair started teasing.

Every now and then he would glance at his watch half wishing the minutes away, half savouring them, not fully prepared for the evening ahead.

Just as he was about to move to the kitchen and grab one last drink before Sebastian arrived, the buzzer sounded alertly and demanding.

Blaine froze in place turning to stare at the door, eyeing the intercom, his nerves suddenly picking up and racing around his body. He moved forward as the buzzer sound filled the apartment once again, this time several short buzzes. Short impatient buzzes.

"Hello?"

"Geez, come on, Anderson! Let me up. It's freezing out here!" Sebastian moaned through the intercom as Blaine pressed the button to release the latch of the front door to let him into the building.

He listened through the speaker as Sebastian pushed the door open, mumbling to himself ("finally.") before the door swung shut behind him.

Blaine had probably a minute maximum before Sebastian would be hammering on his door. He moved quickly into the bathroom the other side of the hallway and did one last check of his outfit before checking his hair was still styled how he had left it an hour earlier.

He heard a tap at the door, less demanding this time and made his way back out into the hall, smoothing down his shirt as he went.

He pulled the door open and there stood Sebastian, nonchalantly leaning against the door frame, a grin on his face. Sebastian who he had wanked over every night for the past week. Sometimes twice.

"Hey." Blaine greeted, moving to one side to indicate for Sebastian to enter.

"Hey, yourself." Sebastian replied while moving into the apartment, looking around as he went.

Blaine watched as Sebastian's eyes wandered their way around, taking in every small detail, assessing his apartment and belongings and probably comparing them to his own fancy penthouse suite. Ok, so it wasn't a penthouse suite, but still, the two couldn't be compared.

"Nice place." Sebastian concluded turning to fix his eyes on Blaine fully for the first time since his arrival.

"Mmhmm." Blaine hummed, with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Sebastian laughed out, "It's a nice place, cute, cosy-"

"Small?" Blaine interrupted, an amused look on his face as he watched Sebastian falter slightly before repositioning a confident look on his face.

"I think the word 'homely' would be better fitting." Sebastian concluded, eyes focusing on Blaine, slowly giving his outfit a once over with an impressed gaze before coming back up and meeting his eyes. "Nice outfit. No bow tie?"

"I was advised against it." Blaine lied giving a shrug of the shoulders, pushing the blue bow tie that currently lay across his bed to the back of his mind, thanking his senses that he hadn't worn it.

He watched as Sebastian's smile curved into a grin and let out a low chuckle before looking down at his own outfit to check his own appearance.

Blaine had noticed it as soon as the taller man had walked in. In fact he had purposely been trying to avoid staring too much.

Sebastian was dressed smart casual. He wore black pointed shoes, a pair of dark navy jeans, white fitted shirt, the arms rolled up to just below his elbows and to top it off a skinny black tie.

He looked good. He knew he looked good. Every bit of his outfit enhanced his appearance and the more that Blaine looked the harder it was to stop.

"So aren't you going to return to compliment?" Sebastian asked, laying his hands out in front of him as if presenting himself for approval. "How do I look?"

Blaine contemplated his answer for a few seconds, making the obligatory 'Hmm' noises while looking Sebastian up and down.

"Well…it's just…." Blaine stalled, mocking Sebastian and relishing the look on Sebastian's face when he didn't get instant approval.

"Just what?!"

"A bit…..gay?" Blaine concluded, a smile forming on his lips as he watched Sebastian visibly relax on the spot and look back down at his outfit once again.

"A bit gay? Coming from the man who is wearing suspenders?" Sebastian replied, homing back in on Blaine, his eyes dancing playfully as he threw Blaine a questioning look to which he got only a shrug in response. "Whatever. I look good. You look good. Let's get going." He concluded, nodding in the direction of the door.

_You look good. You look good. You look good. _Sebastian Smythe thought he looked good.

Lost in his own world, in those three words, he didn't notice as Sebastian walked towards him, brushing past him and scooting around him at the last minute to reach out for the door.

"Come on, Anderson. Don't want to be late and miss all the fun." Sebastian stated barely three inches away from his ear, patting him on the back gently as he pulled open the door and stepped out onto the landing, taking one more look around the apartment as Blaine closely followed him out the door.

They made their way down to street level, with little chat, until the walked out the front door of Blaine's apartment block and he stood frozen on the spot while Sebastian made his way towards the midnight blue car parked in front of him.

"Is that your car?!" Blaine exclaimed looking at the machine in front of him with wide eyes. "Seriously?"

Sebastian walked spun around and eyed Blaine who was looking at the car in awe. He gave a short nod as he looked down at the car and then back at Blaine, a confused look on his face. "Yeah, why?"

"That's a Porsche 911." Blaine said while ogling the car while moving in for a closer look.

"Yes…." Sebastian said matter of factly, still slightly confused by Blaine's behaviour.

"How the hell have you got a car like that?!" Blaine exasperated waving his hands in the direction of the Porsche, turning to look at Sebastian who was shrugging, because to him, it was just a car.

"Company car." Sebastian replied nonchalantly. "Perks of the job. Shall we get in rather than just staring at it though?"

"Yeah. Sure. Yeah. Let's go." Blaine concluded as he made his way to the passenger side of the car, pulled the door open and sank down into the snug sports seats and was followed closely by Sebastian.

Once both inside, Blaine realised just how small the car was inside. Comfy but small and intimate. Unlike usual cars where there would be a foot or so between driver and passenger, in Sebastian's Porsche they were nearly touching.

If Blaine hadn't been in complete awe of the car itself, he might have blushed at the intimacy or realised as Sebastian took in how close they were, nervously biting his lip and readjusting himself in his seat, before starting the engine up and whizzing off down the street.

The car journey took 30 minutes, they chatted most of the way, recapping over things that they had previously and reminiscing about Dalton and when they were younger.

Sebastian explained more about his job, how much he loved it, how he was in line to make it to the top if he kept working hard, hence the car while Blaine didn't elaborate much on his.

It was a comfortable journey, neither of them mentioning anything that made the other uneasy or awkward and when they pulled into the bar where Blaine supposed the stag do was being held, he secretly regretted the fact that he now had to get out the car and go and spend time with other people.

"Are you drinking tonight?" Blaine asked Sebastian as the got out the car and started making their way across the parking lot to the bar.

"Yeah. I'll leave the car here and pick it up tomorrow. Thad wouldn't let me get away with not drinking." Sebastian replied, throwing Blaine a grin. "We'll get a taxi home. You can share with me."

Share a taxi with Sebastian. Most likely drunk Sebastian. Oh, Jesus. Don't think about the wanking.

"So, what's Max doing tonight?" Blaine asked, trying to sound as neutral as possible and failing miserably, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Sebastian threw a sideways glance at Blaine, a small smile formed on his lips as he bit back from letting out a chuckle.

"Sulking."

"Sulking? Why?" Blaine quizzed, as they pushed through the doors of the bar.

"Most likely because he's not invited"

"Oh."

"And the fact that I'm here with you." Sebastian replied honestly, looking Blaine up and down before turning to look around the bar in search of the other members of their party that might have arrived.

Before Blaine had a chance to quiz Sebastian more and the words _'I'm here with you' _swam around in his head, he was pulled back to reality as Nick and Jeff followed them through the door, slapping both of them on the back.

"Blaine. Good to see you again, man." Nick gushed, pulling Blaine into a half hug, "However I can't say the same for you, Bas." He joked, giving the taller man a grin and receiving a clip around the head both from Sebastian and Jeff.

"You know he's only joking, Seb. He loves you really." Jeff stated, as he threw Nick a knowing look. "You should hear how much he gushes about you when you're not around!"

"Shut up." Nick moaned before making his way forward, towards the bar.

"I can only imagine. Who couldn't love me, right?" Sebastian joked, winking at Jeff and receiving a laugh in return before finally resting his eyes on Blaine, glazed over, staring intently for several moment before shaking himself back into the current situation and moving towards the bar himself. "Let's get this party started."

They made their way towards the bar and soon sought out the other members of the party. There were more than Blaine was expecting, twenty or so men, all dressed up ready for a night of fun.

Thad stood in the middle of them all and by the looks of it, he'd already had a few drinks. His face lit up when he saw Sebastian, Blaine and Niff (as they called themselves. Yes. Really.)

"Bas! Finally! I've been here an hour. My brother is here, we can begin." He announced to the group, waving his arms around.

"Brother _in law_, Thad, brother _in law_." Sebastian muttered as he rolled his eyes in Blaine's direction causing the shorter man to let out a small laugh.

"And Blaine. I'm glad you came! When Sebastian suggested it I said you wouldn't come, but I'm glad you did! Drink?" Thad said excitedly, eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them.

"Uhh…yeah." Blaine said, a tone of confusion in his voice as he eyed Sebastian suspiciously, who he swore was avoiding his eye contact. _When Sebastian suggested it._ Hadn't Sebastian said that Thad had wanted him to come?

Before he had long to think about what had been said, Thad was thrusting a beer into his hand and he was thrown into introductions of other members of the group.

Sebastian was doing the introducing, going from one person to another at record speed. He must have gone through twelve people when they met Blake.

"Blaine, Blake. Blake, Blaine." Sebastian signalled and then went to turn to go onto the next person.

"Aha! So you're the famous Blaine Anderson!" Blake drawled, eyeing Blaine up and down, pushing his hand forward for Blaine to shake, which he did with a confused look on his face. "I've heard lots about you."

"Oh, really?" Blaine replied, letting his hand drop to his side and turning to look quickly at Sebastian who was now facing Blake, a small scowl on his forehead.

"Yeah. Blaine Anderson: Warbler superstar, budding actor, sex on a stick." Blake purred, moving closer into Blaine personal space.

_I don't know who this Blaine guy is but apparently he's sex on a stick and sings like a dream._

Blaine remembered the familiar words as clear as day. When first meeting Sebastian, the warbler had been more than forward with his intentions and interest and when he had referred to him as 'sex on a stick' that first time in The Lima Bean, Blaine had felt like his stomach was doing somersaults.

He felt a familiar sensation rising in the pit of his gut at the moment and out the corner of his eye he saw Sebastian's cheeks flush a light shade of pink and his mouth straighten into a thin line as he took a step forward nearer to Blaine.

Blake who was probably the same height as Sebastian, but broader and more muscular, eyed Blaine up and down with interest as his tongue came out to lick his lips suggestively.

"So, um, all good I hope?" Blaine stumbled over his words, now aware of how close Sebastian was, but also the fact that Sebastian had been talking about him, because in all honesty, who else would of referred to him like that.

"All good and I can truthfully say that I completely agree with everything I've heard so far." Blake stated, lowering his voice slightly and staring intently at Blaine, who couldn't quite meet his eye as Blake gave him a quick wink.

The guy was hot. No one could deny that. He was what you consider pretty when referring to men. His hair was styled, he had good fashion sense and his body, well, he obviously worked out, that much was clear.

"Uhh, thanks." Blaine replied, not really sure what else to say.

He was very aware of the fact that Sebastian was standing next to him and somehow his shoulder was flush against his own. He was also aware of the fact that Sebastian was still scowling, staring at Blake.

"So, Blaine. Single?" Blake asked suggestively, raising his eyes brows in question.

"Yep." Blaine replied, nodding in agreement and flicking his eyes to look at Sebastian.

"Good."

With that one word, Blaine felt an arm hook around him and a strong hand rest on his shoulder, giving it a light tug as if indication that it was time to move on. He wasn't the only one who clocked Sebastian's protective hand either.

Blake's eyes went from Blaine's to the hand to Sebastian and then back to Blaine. His head cocked to one side and he raised his eyebrows momentarily as a small smile appeared on his lips and he let out a low chuckle.

"Right, well, maybe see you later then, Blaine." Blake concluded, giving him a smile and turning to give Sebastian a knowing look before returning to the bar to order several drinks.

Sebastian's hand dropped almost immediately as he turned away, Blaine following close behind.

"He seems nice." Blaine said hesitantly when they had found a not so crowded space, with a couple of bar stools near Jeff and Nick.

"He's ok. A bit of a dick sometimes." Sebastian mumbled, throwing another look in Blake's direction. "He came to Dalton after you left. We've known him for years."

"Oh right."

_Known him for years._ That might explain the sex on a stick comment.

"Just…don't…you know, get with him. He'll try, that's for sure." Sebastian mumbled, side glancing Blaine, not meeting his eyes fully.

Blaine didn't reply at first, he simply watched as Sebastian's eyes scanned the room, falling on Blake who was stood at the bar now talking to another member of the stag party, throwing his own glances in their direction every now and again.

"Is he single?" Blaine asked.

"Why?"

"Just curious."

"Yes. He's single." Sebastian exasperated and turned to say something else to Blaine but was interrupted by Thad falling into the side of him; he had been attempting to make his way over to them for the past two minutes.

"Sebbbbbbb!" Thad sang into Sebastian face as he hooked his arm around his shoulder, causing Sebastian to look uncomfortable and roll his eyes, all previous annoyance and tension dropping from his body. "Let's do some of those drinking games we said about!"

"Those drinking games are used to help people _get_ drunk Thad. You're already drunk." Sebastian responded matter of factly, smiling down at the shorter boy who was half chuckling to himself, a look of endearment unable to stay out of his eyes.

"Yeah but you aren't! Blaine isn't! Come onnnn." Thad exasperated spinning around the bar to look at others. "Let's play some. I might sit the first few rounds out though…get some water. Pace myself." Thad concluded scrunching up his nose slightly as the bottle in front of him waved back and forth in his line of vision.

"Fine, fine." Sebastian gave in, throwing a look at Blaine with a small shrug before pushing himself up off the stool, his air of confidence that had been absent for the past ten minutes returning instantly.

"Right you lot," he called out, raising his voice so that it could be heard over the crowd, silencing them instantaneously, very much so in the role of Captain of the Warblers, "Thad wants to play some drinking games, so, grab yourselves a drink from the bar and some shots and prepare for yourselves! We start in five minutes!"

Blaine watched as the crowd seemed to nod along with Sebastian's words and then do as instructed pretty much straight away, heading to the bar in search of their poison of choice for the evening antics.

"Right, come on, Anderson. Let's shake things up." Sebastian exclaimed, throwing him a grin as he nudged him in the direction of the bar.

Two hours past where drinking games took over, everyone was game for whatever was thrown at them. They'd started off by playing a couple of games of 21 to get people drinking quickly and continuously.

Then things had got a bit more interesting when Jeff suggested a game of 'I Have Never…' revealing a few hidden secrets that people probably didn't want others to know.

The whole group were sat together. Thad had regained composure once again after several glasses of water and had returned to playing games with the rest of the group. Sebastian had sat next to Blaine on his right, Blake at some point had joined them on his left.

By this point Blaine was feeling the effects of alcohol and jumped into the game 100 per cent. He watched how on occasion Sebastian eyed some of his revelations, shocked by what Blaine had or hadn't done (mainly sexual) and he himself learnt a bit more about Sebastian.

"Your turn Seb!" Jeff called drunkenly across the table, his arm hooked around Nick who was giggling into his neck.

"Uh..right…I have never had sex in the backseat of a car?" Sebastian shrugged, taking a sip of his drinking and looking around to see the majority of the group taking a sip of their drink.

"Easy, Seb! Everyone has had sex in a car!" Thad giggled, while the others nodded in agreement. "Man, I've even had sex in your car!"

Sebastian's eyes widened in shock, while the rest of the group erupted into laughter, Blaine included which received a jab in the ribs from Sebastian and a scowl.

"My car!?" Sebastian exclaimed. "My car?! That's disgusting"

"Blame Ellie!" Thad laughed out. "It was her idea!"

"Oh, Jesus. Even I haven't had sex in that car." Sebastian groaned, half disgusted with the idea that his sister had had sex in his pride and joy but also annoyed that someone had got there before him. "I'm never going to be able to look at you two the same way ever again."

"And on that note," Nick stated, "How about we change the game!"

"What about Truth or Dare?" Blake piped up wiggling his eyebrows flirtatiously around the table which was received by a few 'yeahs' and an equal amount of groans.

"How very high school." Sebastian drawled, rolling his eyes in return of Blake's wiggle.

"Something you don't want to share, Smythe? From what I remember you were always up for a dare or two back in the day." Blake challenged his voice full of laughter.

Blaine felt as Sebastian tensed next to him and his eyes glanced around the circle before falling back on Blake.

"No. Truth or dare is fine by me." Sebastian concluded, pushing himself up from the table. "But I need another drink before we start."

One drink turned into several and by the time they actually got around to playing truth or dare, 40 minutes later, most of the group were intoxicated to the point of no return. Sebastian and Blaine included.

They both tried to claim that they weren't as drunk as they were, but the stumbling and explosions of uncontrollable laughter at random occurrences would suggest otherwise.

The game had started out innocently with the usual questions such as 'when did you first have sex?' or 'how many people have you slept with' and dares such as flirting with the waitress to get a free drink and downing drinks in one go.

After everyone had done at least one dare and one truth, questions and dares got more adventurous. Blaine watched as members of the group ended up giving each other love bites or kissing and had to answer personal questions about themselves and others at the table.

He hadn't been involved so far and he hoped that it was going to stay that way, but it didn't last long.

"Blake, your turn: truth or dare?" Jeff asked the man to Blaine's left.

Blaine watched as Blake contemplated the choice for a few moments, eyeing the group suspiciously before throwing his hands up in the air slightly. "Fuck it. Dare." He stated and received several 'ooo's of excitement as the others plotted.

Blaine waited patiently along with Sebastian as the other side of the table decided on Blake's dare and then watched eagerly as he was told his fate.

"Right. Blake, you have to kiss the person you find most attractive in this bar." Jeff stated with a nod of confirmation when Blake raised his eyebrows back across the table at his fellow ex warbler.

Blaine couldn't help let out a small, shocked laugh, causing Sebastian to do the same as they turned to watch Blake carry out his dare with glazed eyes.

"Fine." Blake shrugged, "Easy."

To his surprise, Blake turned and faced Blaine. He quickly glanced at Sebastian before looking back intently at Blaine. "Although I've only known Anderson for the past three hours I can quite honestly say that he is the hottest guy in here tonight."

Blaine froze on the spot, his mouth opening in shock as he looked around the rest of the group with wide eyes, only to receive a few giggles and grins in return.

The only person who wasn't grinning or laughing was Sebastian. In fact when Blaine looked at him he looked annoyed, almost angry. His body had stiffened and the smile that had been on his lips moments earlier that he had shared with Blaine was nowhere to be seen.

He wouldn't make eye contact with Blaine, shooting piercing looks at Blake and then occasionally at Jeff as well, who also seemed to clock his annoyance.

Before Blaine had chance to back down, to argue with Blake's declaration, the taller man was pulling him forward by the front of his shirt as Blaine's hands found the edge of the seat and clutched on for dear life.

"Don't worry, Blaine. It's only a kiss." He muttered before pressing their lips together.

Blaine felt a tongue whip over his lips and then press against them, asking permission for entry. He refused at first but Blake was persistent and within five seconds their tongues were grazing against one another, slow at first and then quickening in pace.

Blaine allowed his eyes to flutter closed and his mouth to go with the flow. The sooner he resisted, the sooner the kiss would be over and they could move onto the next person. Simple. Or so he thought.

Just as he was about to pull away, Blaine felt hands moving up to cup his face, circling around the back of his head, tangling into his hair and pulling him in deeper into the kiss.

The touch against his skin made him moan instinctively. It wasn't the fact that he wanted to kiss Blake, because he didn't, he just hadn't had contact like that in a while and although he didn't really want to be kissing Blake, in the middle of a bar with everyone else watching, he couldn't deny that it didn't feel good.

It was the alcohol. Alcohol always made everything seem a good idea at the time.

After a minute of locked lips, Blake released his hands and pulled back, a wide grin appearing on his face as he looked down at Blaine, giving him a wink before returning back to the game.

Blaine sat in his own world for a moment before turning back to the rest of the group, his cheeks slightly flushed by the intensity of the kiss but also because it had been in front of everybody and at this moment they were all wiggling their eyes suggestively at him.

Actually, the only person who wasn't looking at him was Sebastian, who appeared to be focused solely on the drink in front of him instead. His face looked as cloud of thunder, his cheeks were flushed also, the same as when Blake had announced that it was Blaine that he was planning on kissing.

Blaine eyed him for a few moments before leaning in and drunkenly nudging him, getting no response.

"Hey, you ok?" He quizzed, his mind light headed from the kiss, the alcohol and the whole evening itself.

"Fine." Sebastian replied bluntly.

"Are you sure? It's just that-"

"I'm fine. Just drop it." Sebastian muttered in a low whisper, before looking sideways at Blaine and then back to his drink. His eyes narrowing in frustration.

If Blaine had been sober, he would have sworn that Sebastian was jealous. Sebastian, who has a long term boyfriend.

He shook his head slightly to shake the thoughts out of his mind. He'd had a fair bit to drink and trying to convince himself that the man that he was pretty sure that he was attracted to might be jealous of him kissing someone else probably wasn't the best idea, especially when alcohol was involved.

Blaine's thought process was interrupted by Blake's voice. He turned to look at the man sat next to him to see what he was saying and realised that he was leaning around him and actually talking to Sebastian.

"Your turn, Bas." Blake stated, "Truth or dare?"

Blaine watched as Sebastian rolled his eyes slightly before sitting up straight, turning towards Blake causing their legs to brush against one another. His blood shot eyes skimmed over Blaine on the way, hesitating slightly for a few moments before he locked eyes with Blake.

"Truth." Sebastian answered matter of factly and raised his eyebrows waiting for his question.

"Good. If you weren't with Max, who at this table would you most like to date?" Blake asked, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched Sebastian, waiting for an answer.

"No one. I'm out of everyone's league." Sebastian responded straight away, finishing off with a fake grin before taking a large sip of his beer.

"Not a good enough answer which means you forfeit and have to do a dare!" Thad exclaimed from the other side of the table, pointing and waving his finger at Sebastian and received a glare in return. "Sorry." He murmured more to himself than to Sebastian.

"He's right. You do forfeit, which means it's a dare." Blake replied, laughter playing in his voice. "I dare you to kiss Blaine and then he can tell us who the better kisser is."

Blaine heard Thad laugh the other side of the table but was silenced quickly by Jeff as all eyes focused on him, Blake and Sebastian.

He watched as Sebastian picked up his drink, took another sip before looking around the group once again, then to Blaine, eyeing him for a minute as Blaine stared right back into him.

Unlike the kiss with Blake, Blaine didn't feel worried. He didn't even look up to see what everyone else was doing, his eyes only focused on Sebastian.

Sebastian's eyes left his own, tracing his body up and down twice before turning and looking at Blake, as though shaken from a dream.

"No." Sebastian replied bluntly, causing Blaine's stomach to sink. "Unlike you, I'm in a relationship. Max would kill me." He concluded with a shrug.

"Bullshit." Blake replied quickly, light heartedly.

He was met with Sebastian frowning at him, this time with anger. The alcohol obviously taking its toll and heightening his emotions.

"Fuck off, Blake." Sebastian barked, pushing himself up from the table, looking quickly at the others and finally at Blaine. "I'm going to get some fresh air."

Blaine watched as he turned away from the group and made his way through the front door, out into the night air. He turned back and looked at the rest of the group, some of whom were already continuing with their conversations. Blake looked sheepish and slightly annoyed himself, whereas Jeff and Nick looked worried and were muttering between themselves whether to follow Sebastian or not.

Now that Sebastian had gone, Blaine felt insecure for the first time that evening. Even with his beer jacket on. He was worried, He was confused. He wanted to check Sebastian was ok.

"I'm going to go and see if he's ok." Blaine stated, standing up and receiving looks of concern with a hint of relief from both Nick and Jeff. "I won't be long. I think I need some air too."

He made his way, half stumbling to the front of the bar and pushed the door open, to be greeted by a whoosh of cool air to his face and heard as the door slam shut behind him, locking out all the sound from the bar.

He looked around quickly, not seeing Sebastian at first but then as his eyes scanned the parking lot a second time, he noticed the outline of a figure and when he looked closer saw it was Sebastian leaning against the wall of the bar to his left.

He noticed Sebastian look sideways, squinted to see who it was approaching and visibly relaxed once he realised it was Blaine.

"Who sent you? Jeff or Nick?" Sebastian questioned him as he stopped and leaned himself up against the wall next to Sebastian, brushing his arm slightly as he did so.

"Neither. I needed fresh air." Blaine replied, slurring slight, looking up at the night sky rather than at Sebastian.

"Mmm. I'm not surprised after that kiss." Sebastian muttered, turning to look at the sky himself, his own voice slurring from the alcohol as he kicked the ground beneath him.

Blaine didn't respond straight away. He continued to look up ahead. They stood in silence for several minute, neither of them talking or making any move to talk.

It was Blaine who did so first. It was the cool air that gave him the confidence. Made him feel more light headed and self-assured. He psyched himself up, pushed away from the wall and turned to face Sebastian so that he was standing in front of him.

He waited until Sebastian looked down at him before he spoke and Sebastian being Sebastian took his time. Two minutes passed before he eventually sighed, looked down and made eye contact with Blaine. "What?"

"Can I ask you something?" Blaine queried, cocking his head to one side, the alcohol guiding him more than his senses.

"Yeah."

"Were you jealous?"

"Of?" Sebastian asked, scrunching his nose up in displeasure at where the conversation was headed.

"Blake."

"Why would I be jealous?"

"Because he was flirting with me…..Because he kissed me." Blaine replied sheepishly, drunkenly, shrugging to himself and waited for Sebastian to give him a response, any indication of what he was feeling.

He waited. He waited for what seemed like minutes and minutes but Sebastian didn't reply. Instead he lent his head back against the wall and looked back up into the night sky, avoiding Blaine's gaze.

After several minutes of waiting and being ignored, Blaine sighed, turned to head back towards the door for the bar.

"Forget it." He mumbled as he moved away from Sebastian.

At the last moment he felt a hand wrap around his wrist, stopping him from leaving and turned to look back at Sebastian who was still looking up at the stars.

"What?" Blaine asked, his wrist still being held by Sebastian.

Finally the taller man turned away from the sky and turned his whole body so that he was now facing Blaine, his arm still resting against the wall, fingers still clinging tight, eyes glazed over, full of longing.

"Yes I was jealous." Sebastian stated, looking at Blaine intently, his eyes wide to show he was telling the truth. "I was jealous…I am jealous because he flirted with you and he kissed you. When he was kissing you I wanted to pull him off you but you looked like you were enjoying it." Sebastian mumbled as he let go of Blaine's wrist, causing Blaine to feel guilty, because he had enjoyed it for a split second. "And finally the reason I didn't do the dare and kiss you was because if I started, I wouldn't be able to stop. I'm with Max. I can't do that. Ok?"

"Ok." Blaine replied, somewhat shocked. He hadn't been expecting that to come out of Sebastian's mouth. In fact he had expected Sebastian to drunkenly laugh in his face.

"We should go back inside, people will start talking. Although I'm pretty sure they already are." Sebastian exclaimed, letting a small drunk giggle escape his lips.

Blaine watched as Sebastian moved around him, as he walked to the door and then paused to wait for Blaine to catch up to him.

"Right." Blaine mumbled, his drunken voice full of regret.

He turned himself and walked towards the entrance, pausing to stand between Sebastian and the wall, throwing a small sad smile up at him. Their eyes locked as he did so and they stared into one another.

Blaine was just about to make a move for the door when Sebastian reached out for him a second time, this time, placing his hand on his shoulder to prevent him from moving. Blaine looked up at him with a confused look on his face, his eyebrows raised in question, waiting for Sebastian to say something, to do something.

"You know what? Fuck it." Sebastian mumbled, taking a step forward and trapping Blaine between himself and the wall as he positioned his hands either side of Blaine's head.

"Fuck what?" Blaine queried, frowning as he let the alcohol get the better of him.

"Fuck the dare." Sebastian stated matter of factly as he took a clumsy step forward, his eyes scanning the shorter boys face as he invaded his personal space, lowering his lips onto Blaine's.


End file.
